"Before God: We Are All Family" is an inspiring and warm documentary that was funded and filmed by the Human Rights Campaign Foundation (HRC),  which is the nation's largest lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) organization. The film, which premiered at the GALA Hispanic Theater in Washington, DC, reveals the story of five religious Latino families who learned to look beyond binding church teachings, in order to accept their daughters, sisters, brothers and sons, whose gender identities or sexual orientations are outside of the norm.      

The documentary conveys the transformation of the families, along with the stories about the unveiling of the LGBT family member. Individuals such as Joanna Maria Cifredo shared their origin and coming out stories, and she expressed what it felt like to find envy where her brothers found lust.

"My brothers looked at females because they wanted to be with a female," Cifredo said in the video. "I looked at females more like, 'Oh, I wish I was her.' "

Centered on honesty, revelation and truth, the film doesn't avoid the parent's initial resistance to the apparent changes to identity and orientation. Nor, does it ignore the fact that the gay or transgender lifestyle disagrees with the church's teachings.  Being that Latinos tend to have a cultural identity that is deeply oriented with family and heavily associated with faith, learning to accept and understand the alternative lifestyles isn't always easy. But these five families, like so many others, shed the shame and fear; and they acknowledged the truth of the situation: that the person that they love simply became who they were always meant to be.

Dr. Sharon Groves, director of HRC's Religion and Faith Program added, "By boldly and lovingly exploring the delicate web of faith, family, and sexuality, the families in "Before God" do something extraordinary.  They offer us a path from exile to liberation where difference becomes the source of strength and the spirit of an expansive love - so central to Latino culture - can flourish and call all of us to a new way to be familia."

The documentary was shot in the United States and Puerto Rico, and moves between English and Spanish. The families are immigrants and native born Latinos. For more information about the film, visit hrc.org/events/entry/premiere-of-before-god-we-are-all-family.