Tim Kirkman (Creator/Host)

Tim Kirkman received Emmy, GLAAD, Gotham and Independent Spirit Award nominations for his first film, Dear Jesse, a first-person documentary about the antigay North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms. Dear Jesse won the Audience Award at Frameline and was named Best Documentary of the Year by the Boston Society of Film Critics after airing on the HBO/Cinemax “Real Life” series. He has written and directed two other feature films: Loggerheads, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Grand Jury Prize at Outfest; and Lazy Eye, which had a limited theatrical run and streamed on Netflix and Amazon Prime. With Todd Shotz, he co-founded T42 Entertainment, a Los Angeles-based production company focused on amplifying LGBTQ voices and stories. Most recently they produced Joanna Gleason's feature directorial debut, The Grotto, as well as her short Morning Into Night, which she also wrote. Tim also directed the feature film adaptation of David Drake’s solo show The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me and 2nd Serve. Tim teaches screenwriting at UCLA’s School of Film, Television and Digital Media and is on the directing faculty of USC’s School of Cinematic Arts where he teaches in both scripted and documentary forms. Previously, he was on the faculty at Hunter College in New York City and the Vermont College of Fine Arts. A Writers Guild of America member since 2006, he lives in Los Angeles with his spouse, Drew Barr, and rescue pup, Jack.