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TIM POST: A Film Festival in Saint Cloud is rare enough. Make that a Film Festival sponsored by a gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered group, and it easily becomes the first of its kind in the Central Minnesota city. Saint Cloud has a conservative reputation. It's mostly White and primarily Catholic.

Saint Cloud has also received attention for accusations of anti-Semitism at Saint Cloud State University, and racially motivated incidents on campus. Michael Smith produces a cable TV show in Saint Cloud that features gay and lesbian issues. Smith says Saint Cloud has outgrown that conservative image.

MICHAEL SMITH: I have never really saw Saint Cloud as a conservative. I've heard about it. I've heard some slam names and stuff. But as far as myself, I haven't experienced it being as conservative as its reputation is.

TIM POST: Members of Out, a new GLBT group in Saint Cloud, are holding the Film Festival to gain recognition for St. Cloud's gay community. They also want to engage residents, gay and straight, in a dialogue about issues. The Film Festival will feature three movies. The first film is Scout's Honor, a documentary about the effort of two straight scouters to fight the Boy Scouts policy against gay scouts and scoutmasters.

Another film is a rock opera comedy, Hedwig and the Angry Inch. And Stray Dogs is a dark Southern film about a young, rural woman who questions her sexuality, but has no one to turn to for advice. Stray dogs was written and directed by Catherine Crouch. She and the other filmmakers will be in Saint Cloud to lead discussions of their work. She expects the story of a rural woman struggling with her sexuality will affect viewers in Saint Cloud differently than it would in a bigger city.

CATHERINE CROUCH: In a rural venue, it's very important because people feel very isolated sometimes in rural areas. And this is a story that's set back in time, so you can watch it safely, even though I think it does affect rural people more than city people.

TIM POST: The films deal with issues of sexuality, but are not in-your-face activist filmmaking. Saint Cloud State University film Professor Ron Gregg, says aggressive films wouldn't have been a good choice, especially since the festival's purpose is to spur dialogue.

RON GREGG: The very often those aggressive films are more propaganda-based. I mean, they really create a sense of Black and White in the way that they're presenting these issues, that these people are evil or these people are good. And I think these films go into that gray area, and it's not into demonizing, it's into understanding.

TIM POST: Gregg says the films will face a friendly audience, so they'll be preaching to the choir in a way. But he says the Film Festival will be a good way to let people across the state know that Saint Cloud residents are becoming aware of their community's diversity. Dan Anderson is a member of Saint Cloud's Human Rights Commission, and a member of Out. Anderson says he's simply looking for some recognition. He says this festival may not change how many people think, but at least they can learn some new perspectives.

DAN ANDERSON: There's something there that people can come and be a part of, and walk out, and they may not have changed their point of view in one way or the other, but they have more to think about. They have more to think about. They have more to digest.

TIM POST: The Film Festival is funded in part by a grant from the city. A few people have questioned if the city should be involved in the event. Other than that, Out members say they've had little opposition to the festival. Saint Cloud's first Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, and Allies Film Festival is free, and opens Saturday night at the Paramount Theater in downtown Saint Cloud. Tim Post, Minnesota Public Radio, Saint Cloud.