Sep 07, 2015 8 Questions with: Jennifer Chang and Lisa Dazols
I met Jennifer Chang at TED Women 2015, as she was sharing pretty incredible stories about how she and her partner Lisa Dazols set out from their day jobs to create their documentary, Out & Around. What began as a video web series and blog to tell the stories of people around the world who are leading the movement for LGBT equality, Out & Around is a film that captures their travel to fifteen countries through Asia, Africa, and South America, as they interviewed LGBT leaders across the developing world. With initial funding crowdsourced from Kickstarter and partnership with the It Gets Better Project, the joint mission of the film is to share stories of hope around the world.
Jenni was recently named a “Hero of the 500s” by Fortune Magazine, and Jenni and Lisa also had the honor of speaking on LGBT issues at the 2015 TED Women’s Conference. They both kindly shared more intimate insights and learnings from their personal journey and experience.
How did Out and Around come to fruition? (from idea to planning to execution)
Jenni: I had wanted to travel around the world for a long time, and when Lisa and I started dating I knew I had found the right partner for the journey. I don’t remember this, but she tells me that I asked her to travel the world with me after the fourth date! But rather than spend a year being tourists, we wanted to use our trip to make a difference in the world. We started Out and Around to strengthen our LGBT community by sharing our experience of world travel as a lesbian couple while meeting queer individuals across the globe.
Lisa: This project just kept getting bigger and bigger. We set out with the idea of doing a blog with videos as we traveled. Then we realized we had enough materials to do a documentary. Our real confidence kicked in when we found a post-production team with professional directors and editors who took it to the next level.
What has been the most rewarding part of the project/experience?
Lisa: It’s been incredibly rewarding to shine light on the LGBT leaders in the developing world who are doing courageous work. People were extremely generous to us, often offering to house us or show us around their country. We talk about gay “family” all the time and it really feels like there is an extended gay family to connect with when you travel.
What are some of the challenges you experienced in producing your film? (both macro and situational)
Jenni: We were pretty humbled by the whole experience, especially when we realized how many films fail to make it to the big screen. We wanted to give up many times when we were on our own and didn’t have the skills to complete the film ourselves. We were so over our heads!
Lisa: We quickly learned that we needed help. We were able to find the right directors, producers, and editors to take on this film as a passion project. We crowd funded a Kickstarter campaign and got the backing that we needed. Luckily, our team rallied behind our common goal of spreading the message of hope and equality.
Describe some of the surprising learnings and insights that you gleaned from your documentary.
Lisa: We learned that this is a pivotal time for LGBT rights. The LGBT movement has great momentum and each country is interconnected. When we met with activists in India, they noted the progressive laws in Nepal around third gender rights and marriage equality. When Argentina passed their marriage equality law, Uruguay and Brazil had precedent that they could follow. When Ireland voted for marriage equality, the world took notice and it only added to the momentum of the US Supreme Court’s decision this past June.
Jenni: On a personal level, we also learned that if you can survive traveling around the world with your spouse 24/7 and still enjoy one another, then you better marry her!
What do you hope your film achieves/contributes to its broader audience and world?
We’re most moved when people tell us that the film helped to open their minds and hearts in a small way. Since airing the film on national television last month on Logo, we received an email from a mom in Virginia who said that her pre-teen daughter just told her that she struggles with her gender identity. This mom wrote us to tell us that our film helped her to feel more hopeful about supporting her child. This is when you feel like it’s all worth it.
What are your top three films of all time? Why?
Lisa: Fried Green Tomatoes. When I read the book I realized that it was a lesbian love story. You have to pay attention, but there are so many loving moments in the film between Ruth and Idgie.
-Rudy. Big jock as a kid and was always the underdog.
-How to Survive a Plague. I’m an HIV social worker. Thought this story was very true to the stories my clients have shared with me.
Jenni: Really loved Alive Inside. A great documentary about the healing power of music for people with cognitive deficits. Also speaks to the power that one inspired and persistent individual can do to change the world.
-Food matters. Changed the way we went grocery shopping!
-Cloud Atlas. Love sci-fi and alternate worlds, and the story is ultimately so hopeful.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
Lisa: My dream was to be the first woman major league baseball player! Such a typical lesbian.
Jenni: I wanted to be journalist. So actually, this project was a way for me to realize part of that dream. But I never dreamed that I would dabble in film, nor did I ever want to be in a film!
Where do you personally find inspiration?
Jenni: We love to read. During our year of travel, we went through a book every week. We’ve tried to continue that since being home and are regulars at the local library. In the car, we also listen to a fair amount of TED talks. It was such an honor for us to get to speak at this year’s TED Women’s conference.
Lisa: For our film, we got a lot of inspiration from the It Gets Better Project. Those videos never get old and really capture the coming out experience around the world as they expand internationally. We’ve been incredible fortunate to collaborate with them as social outreach partners for our film.
