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Entertainment Mental Health

5 Survivors Try and Make Sense of the Psychological Terror of ‘Conversion’

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The East Coast premiere of Conversion benefitting the Trevor Project will take place Thursday night at the SAG-AFTRA Foundation Robin Williams Center in New York City.

After the screening there will be a special panel discussion and Q&A with Director Zach Meiners and cast from the film Dustin Rayburn (in drag known as Dusty Ray Bottoms), Elena Joy Thurston, Matt Ashcroft and Sam Brinton, moderated by Junior Mintt, an activist, performer and host of their very own late-night talk show, The Junior Mintt Show. Mintt is also the founder/CEO of the new inclusive makeup line Mintty Makeup and is known for promoting inclusivity, self-love and Black trans power.

Conversion tries to convey the true horrors of so called “conversion therapy.”

In the US alone, over 698,000 people have been subjected to the often deadly practice.

In 2018, filmmaker Zach Meiners discovered that his former conversion therapist was still practicing. Struggling with the trauma of his own experience, Zach began an endeavor to amplify and empower the voices of survivors, and expose the secretive and often deadly practices of conversion therapy.

The film takes you on a cinematic and personal journey with five survivors from the US and Canada, as they move through the mental and physical harms of conversion therapy, and find the hope and strength to fight against it.

Conversion therapy has become an underground industry, constantly rebranding, adapting, and growing. In discussions of conversion therapy, survivors are often left out of the conversation. And the most vulnerable members of our community, children, are left without a voice, choice, or pathway out of the trauma being inflicted on them.

Ultimately, it is a story of survival and hope.

The cast:

Zach Meiners (He/ Him)

Meiners has been finding creative ways to tell stories since he learned to talk, having directed his first feature before the age of 21, for which he won a student Emmy Award. Since then, Zach has gone on to become an accomplished director, producer, and entrepreneur as the founder and president of Chronicle Cinema.

Zach has worked with politicians and community leaders in the fight for LGBTQ+ rights, and continues his commitment to amplify queer voices and put and end to conversion therapy. Zach uses he/him pronouns.

Matt Ashcroft (He/ Him)

Matt is a part of No Conversion Canada, which worked to end conversion therapy in Canada. He has appeared on various media outlets speaking on this issue, including communicating with politicians to make Canada a safer place for LGBTQ2+ people. Matt recently spoke at the House of Commons in Ottawa about how introducing Bill C-4 protects queer and trans folks. Matt uses the pronouns he/him.

Dustin Rayburn (They/ Them)

Rayburn is an entertainer and activist, best known by their stage name Dusty Ray Bottoms. Dustin’s story of going through conversion therapy first came to prominence while on the Emmy Award winning show “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” Since then, Dustin has  used their platform to support organizations both in the US and abroad, including The Trevor Project and The Amandla Development. Dustin goes by the pronouns they/them.

Elena Joy Thurston (She/ Her)

Joy Thurston is an inspirational LGBTQ+ speaker, trainer, author and founder of the nonprofit Pride and Joy Foundation – which is dedicated to building self-awareness and safety for LGBTQ families and their allies. Elena goes by the pronouns she/her.

Sam Brinton (They/ Them)

Brinton is one of the world’s leading advocates for LGBTQ youth. They are the founder of the 50 Bill 50 States campaign to end the dangerous and discredited practice of conversion therapy, first in the United States and then around the globe. As a survivor of conversion therapy, Sam has spoken before the United Nations and Congress as well as testified on legislation from coast to coast to protect LGBTQ youth mental health across the country. They have been featured in numerous media including multiple New York Times op-eds as well as The Washington Post, Playboy Magazine, and TIME Magazine. Sam uses they, them, or theirs as their pronouns as a genderfluid person.

In October, Conversion won the  2022 Trailblazer Award from the Portland Film Festival presented by Comcast as a special honor dedicated to
projects within the festival that are paving the way in the community and creating positive change beyond the festival screening. The honor comes following the premiere screening on Saturday, October 15th and their panel discussion with the filmmakers and cast.

“It has been such an honor to be included in the Portland Film Festival and even more to be honored by this award.” said Zach Meiners, Director and Producer of Conversion. “This has been an incredible journey and I’m grateful to our survivors who appeared in the film and are working to change the world through the art of
story.”

FIlmmakers and cast that attended the screening included Director/Producer Zach Meiners, Producer/Editor Brad Wagster, Producer Marc Singer and subjects from the film Dustin Rayburn, also known as “Dusty Ray Bottoms” and former contestant on RuPaul’s Drag Race, Elena Joy Thurston, Founder of the nonprofit Pride & Joy Foundation, and Matt Ashcroft, activist who led the fight to end conversion therapy in Canada. Filmmakers and cast then participated in a panel discussion and were joined by Troy Stevenson, Senior Campaign Manager for Advocacy and Government Affairs for The Trevor Project, and was moderated by Mary Emily O’Hara, GLAAD
Rapid Response Manager.

“This was a film we started initially to serve as a five-minute PSA, and it turned into so much more than that,” said Meiners as he accepted the award. “If you are a queer or trans kid out there and for whatever reason have not been able to be who you are, we see you, you are loved and you are not alone.”

Watch the trailer below.

For more information visit the movie’s site.

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