Dear Jesse

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Dear Jesse is a 1998 American documentary film by Tim Kirkman that was released theatrically by Cowboy Pictures in 1998. Using a first-person narrative style in the form of a "letter" to Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC), the filmmaker explores the parallels and differences between himself — an openly gay man — and the notoriously anti-gay public servant. The film also features interviews with members of the Helms foes and fans, community activists, novelists Lee Smith and Allan Gurganus, openly gay Carrboro mayor Mike Nelson, and people in the street, including a brief interview with Matthew Shepard, then a student at Catawba College. Produced by Mary Beth Mann and Executive Produced by Gill Holland, Dear Jesse was edited by Joe Klotz, with music by John Crooke and cinematography by Norwood Cheek. In 1998, the film won the Audience Award at Frameline, the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award and was named Best Documentary of the Year (Runner-Up) by the Boston Society of Film Critics. After the film aired on the HBO/Cinemax “Reel Life” series, Kirkman was nominated for an Emmy Award (Documentary Writing Category).