Post submitted by former Editorial Producer, Print and Digital Media Rokia Hassanein

This Thanksgiving, filmmaker Jenna Laurenzo is bringing LGBTQ representation to the big screen with her new movie, “Lez Bomb.”

“As someone who had to come out, I always was looking for characters and representation that reflected those experiences and, in particular, I really wanted comedies, and I really wanted happy endings,” Laurenzo said in an interview with HRC. “I also loved all the dysfunctional family stories in films that we don’t really see that much of anymore.

“I wanted to tell this relatable family comedy with a queer twist and have Thanksgiving as a backdrop because it is astonishing that in 2018, we haven’t had that yet.”

The groundbreaking movie features characters inspired by Laurenzo’s family. She filmed it at her childhood home and at her mother’s motel.

“The actual arc of coming out -- the emotions there are very much grounded in my own personal experience, except in real life, it took a few years to process, and in ‘Lez Bomb,’ we tried to take those emotions and that journey and put in a 48-hour period with Thanksgiving as the theme,” she said.

Family members could be more supportive of their LGBTQ family by not marginalizing their experiences.

“Everybody at some point in their life had to come out as something… Sexuality aside, coming home and coming out to family is a very universal thing,” she said. “When it comes to sexuality, trying to find the universality of that experience and being compassionate enough to understand is important.”

With LGBTQ organizations like HRC, it makes it easier to tell LGBTQ stories, Laurenzo said.

“These organizations are so important because they give LGBTQ people these platforms in which they have support and they help give it an opportunity to have more visibility, and that is the most important in terms of bringing these stories to a wider audience,” Laurenzo said.

She hopes that people watch the movie, feel inspired and share their coming out story this holiday season.

“I encourage people to share their stories and continue to share, because that’s the best way to bring everyone’s stories to a wider audience and, hopefully, there’s a kind of compassion and empathy and understanding that continues to move forward,” she said.

You can watch “Lez Bomb” in theaters today and on iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and Cable On Demand. Learn more here.