Paul Jablonski and Jim Kelly-Evans have been hosting a successful series of gay and lesbian films, on Tuesday nights at the Cherry Grove Community House, under the auspices of the Arts Project of Cherry Grove and, on August 23, at 6:30 pm, they will present the local premiere of John Gallino’s new documentary “Our Lips Are Sealed,” also shown this summer at Philadelphia QFest and New York City Newfest. Admission is free and donations are encouraged.
Last September, in Ewing, in Mercer County, New Jersey, College of New Jersey students Matty Daley and Bobby Canciello set out to break the previous world’s record for longest continuous kiss, 32 hours and seven minutes, and, with their 33-hour kiss, not only broke the record, but became its first gay record holders, “showing the world that love is love, regardless of gender,” as series co-coordinator Jim put it.
Jim continues, “The rules are strict: no sitting, no breaks, no solid foods, and no diapers when nature calls.” The little hostility the young men incurred on campus was far outweighed by the strong show of support from the hundreds of students who surrounded them, not to mention the half-million viewers watching the kiss on a live webcam stream.
Openly gay United States Congressman Jared Polis, Democrat from Colorado, hailed Daley and Canciello’s accomplishment as “the kiss heard around the world” and Stephen Colbert joked about the pair’s effort to “destroy the traditional sanctity of straight world records.”
Filmmaker Gallino and the stars of “Our Lips Are Sealed” are expected to be present for a question-and-answer session following this Fire Island screening.