New documentary about a Pride Parade in West Virginia

On Friday, a new 22-minute film premiered that celebrates the courage of LGBTQ+ people in a smallWest Virginia City. In a striking and very personal documentary, 24-year-old social media influencer Chris Stanley travels to Morgantown – population 30,000 – to explore one of the smallerProud Celebrations in America. The film, now available onYoutubeis a masterful blend of heartwarming resilience and heartbreaking challenges faced by theLGBTQ+ Community in a conservative city.

“Imagine a Pride celebration so small it’s almost a secret,” Stanley muses in the opening scene, setting the tone for an exploration of the intimate yet meaningful Morgantown Pride parade. Taking place in mid-June, Stanley’s journey was driven by a desire to shed light on the often overlooked experiences of LGBTQ+ people in small-town America.

The start of the project was almost a happy accident. Stanley shared a call on social media looking for the smallest Pride event in the country. “I thought maybe I could try making a documentary,” he told The lawyer“I had this idea for a while and wanted to go to the smallest Pride in the country.”

After receiving numerous suggestions, he chose Morgantown and completed filming on the project in a single day.

Courtesy of Chris Stanley

The documentary’s strength lies in its personal interviews with local residents. Dustin Blankenship, of nearby Granville, offers a candid look into the region’s conservative nature. “Everyone in West Virginia has a gay neighbor, but not everyone in West Virginia wants to talk about having a gay neighbor,” Blankenship notes.

Another key character in the film, Ash Orr, offers a nuanced view of Morgantown’s inclusivity. “The city itself is very welcoming to the queer and trans community. We have passed many ordinances, such as the anti-discrimination ordinance,” Orr explains. However, Orr’s account of his conversion therapy reveals the ongoing underlying intolerance. “Conversion therapy is still a very cruel practice that is practiced in the state of West Virginia as well as other states across the country,” Orr says.

The modest Pride parade, with only 12 cars, is portrayed with admiration and melancholy. Stanley’s narration underlines the small but significant nature of the event: “That’s pretty much the entire Pride parade here. All the way to the end of the block there.”

Stanley’s move from lighthearted content to more serious projects marks a significant evolution in his career. Known for his humorous and sometimes risqué videos on social media, Stanley often documents his travels with his boyfriend, Bret LaBelle, who is 27 years his senior. Their relationship, which began during the pandemic, has been the subject of public fascination and criticism.

Maxwell Poth

“Sometimes people think he is actually my father,” Stanleysaid beforeThe lawyer“Other people think I’m only with him for the money.”