You're Invited:
Behind the Lens: Preserving our LGBTQ+ History 

Mason Funk was born and raised in Los Angeles, and graduated from Stanford University (BA English, 1980). He worked for nearly three decades in non-fiction TV and film, writing and producing programs and documentaries on topics ranging from social issues to sports to science, and earning two Emmy nominations. In 2016, Mason launched The Outwords Archive (OUTWORDS) to record, preserve, and share the stories of LGBTQ+ elders across the United States. In June 2019, OUTWORDS’ first interview anthology, entitled The Book of Pride, was published by Harper Collins. As of August 2025, OUTWORDS had captured nearly 400 interviews with LGBTQ+ elders in 47 states. Further info is available at theoutwordsarchive.org. Mason and his husband, psychotherapist Jay Edwards, divide their time between the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles and Palm Springs, California.

Nancy Kates produced and directed the HBO documentary Regarding Susan Sontag, which premiered at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival, where it received a Special Jury Mention. It has since screened at over 130 film festivals in 35 countries, and received several honors, including a FOCAL International Award. Ms. Magazine named the film one of 2014’s top ten feminist films, while critics called it “compelling” and “perceptive.” Kates also produced and directed Brother Outsider: the Life of Bayard Rustin. The film premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival and on the PBS series “POV," winning more than 25 awards worldwide. Critics described it as “a potent piece of historical rediscovery” (LA Times), and “beautifully crafted” (Boston Globe). Kates studied documentary filmmaking at Stanford; her master’s thesis, Their Own Vietnam, received the 1995 Student Academy Award. She received an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship for her screenplay, Bound by Ice, from the Athena Women’s Film Festival Writers Workshop. In 2014, she was named to the OUT 100, the magazine’s annual list of intriguing LGBTQ Americans.