Now We Can Dance: The Story of the Hayward Gay Prom” documentary film produced by Hayward Library

Now We Can Dance: The Story of the Hayward Gay Prom is a short documentary film produced by Hayward Public Library in 2013. The film celebrates Hayward’s long-standing Gay Prom event. It chronicles the controversy surrounding the 1995 creation of the gay prom and the significance of having a traditional high school dance for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender teenagers. The film was a featured documentary at the international Frameline Film Festival in 2014.

Hayward’s Gay Prom event was the brainchild of the Lambda Youth Project, an LGBT (Lesbian/Gay/Bisexual/Transgender) support group. Each year, hundreds of youth from the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond come to Hayward’s Gay Prom event because it is a safe place to be themselves and celebrate with other like-minded youth. It is believed to be the longest-running youth LGBT prom event in the nation.

Now We Can Dance is a culmination of a two-year documentary project spearheaded by Hayward Library with funding from Cal Humanities. Local teens were trained in filmmaking by a team of Hayward Public Library staff and professional advisors, including Academy Award-winning documentary film director Debra Chasnoff. The film features interviews with early prom organizers, attendees, and supportive community members interspersed with footage from the 2011 gay prom and interviews with recent prom goers, volunteers, and even a protester.

The 17-minute documentary video can be viewed on YouTube. Hayward Library also developed an accompanying school curriculum that addresses Common Core standards and provides discussion questions that can be used by any group.