Pride Prom

Pride Prom is a short documentary that follows the lead organizer of the first LGBTQ+ Pride Prom at Marquette, a Catholic Jesuit university. The film weaves together exclusive interviews and footage to explore the emotional toll of fighting for inclusion at an institution torn between progressive optics and traditional values... and the moments of joy and community that make it worthwhile.

  • Robyn Di Giacinto
    Director
  • Cat Bell
    Second Camera Unit
  • Nick Volkers
    Second Camera Unit
  • Joe Brown
    Drone Operator and Production Advisor
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    11 minutes 32 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 14, 2019
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Milwaukee Film Festival
    Milwaukee, WI
    United States
    October 22, 2019
    World Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Grand Rapids Feminist Film Festival
    Grand Rapids, MI
    United States
    October 27, 2019
    Michigan Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Film Girl Film Festival
    Milwaukee, WI
    United States
    November 10, 2019
    Official Selection
  • OutReels Cincinnati
    Cincinnati, OH
    United States
    November 22, 2019
    Ohio Premiere
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Robyn Di Giacinto

Robyn Di Giacinto is a proudly bi Milwaukeean who's passionate about highlighting important stories and issues in her community. Her work as an independent film director has been featured by the Milwaukee Film Festival, Film Girl Film Festival, OutReels Cincinnati, Grand Rapids Feminist Film Festival, and the Marquette Student Film Festival. She filmed and produced “Pride Prom” as part of her master’s program at the Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University.

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Director Statement

In all the whirlwind of glitter and rainbows we’ve come to associate with Pride, it’s all too easy to forget or romanticize the unglamorous struggle of queer leaders that make these celebrations possible, even fifty years after Stonewall.

I certainly did when I first started making a short documentary about my Catholic university’s first LGBTQ+ Pride Prom. I thought it would be a story about a hard-fought but ultimately uncomplicated triumph in the face of conservative critics. But along the way, it became clear that this incredible progress had come at a sobering cost—namely, the burnout of the event's founder and lead organizer.

In the end, “Pride Prom” is meant to feel bittersweet. It honors the accomplishments of inclusion workers like the film’s subject… all while questioning whether it’s necessary or fair to ask that these leaders sacrifice their wellbeing in the name of change, at Marquette and beyond.