Painful teen experience of being outed inspires Winnipegger to spread message of self-love

When Dave was in Grade 10, they came out to a group of friends.

"I told them something they didn't want to hear, weren't ready to hear."

The next day, those so-called friends told a bunch of other people and Dave'ssecret was out.

"It stinks because I am not trying to impress anyone," said Dave, who was 15 years old at the timeand uses they/them pronouns. "I'm just trying to discover who I am."

Today Dave, the Winnipeg-based host of aweb series, is sharing theirown message of self-love in thenew short film Iam iba.

(CBC is not using Dave's last name because they are concerned fortheir safety.)

Instead of "bakla" (queer in Tagalog), Dave calls themselves "iba," or "different."

"It encapsulates me in three letters," they said.

In the film, Dave encourages people who struggle with self-acceptance and self-love to realize that even if they don't love themselves right now, someone else does.

Dave's story of acceptance and identity is the final piece in a four-part video series by Winnipeg filmmaker Joanne Roberts and her team of Kris Regacho, Toby Zheng, and Alexander Decebal-Cuza.

Since starting the series, Roberts hasbeen hired as a community journalist withCBC Manitoba's Pathways program, a five-month-long paid journalism training program.

You can see the other films in the series at these links:

About the filmmaker

Joanne Roberts has built her career through fiercely advocating for a more inclusive and equitable arts industry.

In 2020, she won the prestigious Emerging Filmmakers Pitch Competition at Gimli Film Festival and has since been regularly releasing works in various mediums that challenge and dismantle societal norms.

Find her on social media @reporterjoanne.