The documentary short Open Dialogues draws upon the diverse coming-out narratives of seven members of Broward County’s LGBTQ community, who took part in on-camera interviews under the direction of award-winning filmmaker Freddy Rodriguez. The 20-minute black-and-white film was produced by the Art and Culture Center/Hollywood to inspire conversation about acceptance and inclusion of the LGBTQ community in Broward.

The seven individuals who shared their unique stories for Open Dialogues are Julie Marie Wade, Dan Bassett, Christine Walters, Omar Morales, Gary Keating, Franchesca D’Amore, and Michael Goodman. Each revealed a range of insights and experiences, such as how the acceptance of self is the first step in gaining acceptance from others. Topics include love and relationships, friends and family, threats of violence, religion and spirituality, and Broward County as a relative safe haven for LGBTQ individuals. Open Dialogues features poetry by Wade, reading from her book "When I Was Straight."

Open Dialogues was funded by a grant from the Community Foundation of Broward as part of Broward Pride, one of the 10 Issues That Matter most to Broward’s future. Broward Pride seeks to catalyze institutional culture change within organizations to openly welcome and include LGBT residents.