US
2006
70 minutes
Director: Markie Hancock

The many conflicts and catch-22s of growing up both Christian and lesbian are explored in this brave, intimate and deeply personal narrative.

Markie Hancock was born in rural 1960s Altoona, Pa., into a staunchly evangelical culture that taught unwavering devotion to God and family. The only daughter in a model Christian household, young Markie passionately absorbed the faith that she was taught, going so far as to stay up at night as a child, listening for the voice of God. Away from home for the first time, a crush on a girl shakes her to the core and places her on a long journey of soul searching. Born Again is Hancock's skillful telling of the excitement, confusion, guilt and wonder of plunging into a life that she had been taught to shun. In college at a relatively liberal seminary school, she tasted her first hint of the forbidden. Describing her first cigarette, she uses it as a metaphor for her wants and needs: "I desire experiences that are my own…not filtered." Her story continues while attending grad school in the deeply divided Berlin of the 1980s, where her personal evolution began to mirror the political one taking place there. Told through archival photographs, personal journal entries, present day interviews from her divided family and an unapologetic first person narration, Born Again documents the complex struggle between faith and individuality. -- Maggie Boccella

Special Note:
Director Markie Hancock and Producer Kathryn Gregorio will be in attendance