SYNOPSIS
Equal parts road movie, political inquiry and personal diary, Tim Kirkman’s DEAR JESSE is the gay filmmaker‘s “letter”
to notoriously anti-gay senator Jesse Helms (R-NC). Set against the backdrop of Helms’ final senate campaign, the film features interviews with both Helms foes and fans including writers Lee Smith and Allan Gurganus; the state’s first openly gay mayor; two AIDS activist-mothers; and people in the street. The film also features a brief interview with Matthew Shepard, the young gay man whose murder called the world’s attention to hate crimes. DEAR JESSE received Emmy, Independent Spirit, Gotham and GLAAD Award nominations and was the winner of the Audience Award for Best Documentary at Frameline, the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and was named Best Documentary of the Year (Runner-Up) by the Boston Society of Film Critics.