"It can bring together so many people at one time," said Wheeler. "You see hundreds of people from one community seated here to watch a film. They're not alone and perhaps gives them the courage to be more openly queer."
For almost 30 years, it's drawn thousands to Durham. It's now the second-largest LGBTQ+ film festival in the southeast. Wheeler is its coordinator.
"As a child, I was considered a sissy, which is a code word for gay," he said.
He remembers growing up in rural North Carolina. Wheeler often refers to himself as a witness to two major turning points in American history: the Stonewall Riots and the Civil Rights Movement.
"We're living in this perfect world, my sister and I. Then we go outside and see it's just not that way. There are battles to be fought. There are rights to be won," he said.
Wheeler was inspired by their audacity to stand up for what they believed in, but not enough for him to be his authentic self.
"What does one do when they are perceived as different? Oftentimes, they try to be like others. So act straight and have a girlfriend," he said.
Growing up, there were people along the way who tried to reach him because they recognized he felt like an outsider. One of the first was his 7th-grade teacher.
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"One day out of the blue she comes and brings me a book. The book was Walt Whitman's Leaves of Grass. The only thing she said to me was I'm giving you this because I want you to know you aren't alone," said Wheeler.
He is a graduate of Duke University, who majored in art, but his love of film started there as he joined an organization that allowed him and others to curate films and show students. By 1995, a committee launched the Salute to Pride, which is now known as OUTSOUTH. It was met with resistance by a Christian coalition.
"They were like you can't do this. These people are perverse. You can't celebrate people who don't fit the mold of heterosexuality who were sinning in God's eyes," he said. " The district attorney saw the films and he said personally, he had seen worse on television and the festival went ahead."
Next year marks 30 years that the OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival has been making a major impact by telling the stories of LGBTQ+ people on the big screen. Wheeler hopes it lets them know they are not alone, like the message that came with the book he was given in 7th grade.
He is accepting the Out100 award with pride.
"We think of this as the paramount award in our community," he said.