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Rex Welton of Winston-Salem debuted the OUT at the Movies film festival in the Triad in 2004 with the goal of screening films dealing with lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender issues.

Now, 15 years after the implementation of the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the festival will screen "Ask Not," a documentary addressing the struggles of gays and lesbians in the military.

"Don't Ask, Don't Tell" prohibits gays and lesbians from serving openly in the military. They cannot reveal their sexual orientation, and military officials cannot ask them about their sexual orientation. But if a person is outed by another service member, they must be discharged.

"A lot of people don't realize the contributions gays and lesbians are making to the military because they're not allowed to talk about it," said Johnny Symons, director and producer of "Ask Not."

Symons received critical acclaim in 2002 with his award-winning documentary "Daddy and Papa," which follows gay couples raising or adopting children. It won awards at nationwide film festivals and was nominated for the Sundance Film Festival's Grand Jury Prize. He began learning more about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" as he searched for the topic of his next film. He realized there were no documentaries addressing the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" law and decided to explore it.

Funded primarily by PBS, Symons spent more than two years directing and editing "Ask Not." The film premiered at the San Francisco International Film Festival in April and will continue on the film festival circuit until it airs on PBS next summer. The OUT at the Movies screening will be the film's North Carolina premiere.

"Ask Not" gives a historical background of "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" and follows three stories: an anonymous gay, active-duty service member as he prepares to deploy to Iraq; a group of protestors who go to military offices and stage a sit-in; and an activist group composed of gay veterans whose goal is to raise awareness about "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"It just put a real, visual face on the fact that there are people who are willing and wanting to serve but aren't able to do so," Symons said. "What I want the film to do is help people understand the complexity and nuances of it."

One of the film's subjects is Alex Nicholson, who's part of the gay veteran activist group featured in the film. Nicholson lived in Greensboro for two years while attending Western Guilford High School and UNCG. He enlisted in the military in 2001 as a human intelligence collector, a job he earned partly because he speaks five languages, including Arabic. He was outed by another unit member and discharged in 2002.

"There are so many instances I think people don't realize where you have to filter your speech on a minute-by-minute basis," Nicholson said.

The need for service members is so great that some officers look the other way when a soldier is outed, Nicholson said, but his commanding officer adhered strictly to the law. Nicholson said he is not allowed to re-enlist, even though the military needs Arabic speakers.

"The public tends not to have a very solid grasp of all the implications of the 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' law," Nicholson said. "But the law is more convoluted than the sound byte 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' makes it seem."

Symons followed Nicholson and his organization for seven weeks as they embarked on a 20-city public awareness campaign, and the soldiers shared their experiences with the law. The film also depicts the group's event on Washington's National Mall in November at which 12,000 flags were displayed for the 12,000 service members discharged under "Don't Ask, Don't Tell."

"One of the biggest gifts that the film will provide is information," said Jarrod Chlapowski, who joined the activist group after he left the military in late 2005.

The film also follows his experience of being openly gay while in the military, his personal growth and his family's response to him coming out.

Nicholson will return to the Triad with Chlapowski for a Q&A session following the OUT at the Movies screening.

"There are a lot of aspects the film wasn't able to cover," Chlapowski said. "So us being there gives an opportunity to answer more questions."

Contact Alexa Milan at 373-7081 or Alexandra.Milan@news-record.com