''The Gay Marriage Thing'' is a 2005
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
directed by
Stephanie Higgins, who attended the
Emerson College
Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...
film school graduate program. The film follows the heated debate over
same-sex marriage in Massachusetts
Same-sex marriage in Massachusetts has been legally recognized since May 17, 2004, as a result of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) ruling in ''Goodridge v. Department of Public Health'' that it was unconstitutional under the Massa ...
in 2004 through the perspective of a lesbian couple who wishes to legally marry, as that state became the first in the U.S. to grant same-sex marriages (although those marriages were not recognized by the federal government).
Location
The film was shot entirely throughout
.
Synopsis
''The Gay Marriage Thing'' follows Gayle and Lorre, thirtysomething college sweethearts who marked their 15th anniversary a year after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled a ban on
same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same Legal sex and gender, sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being ...
stating that it was unconstitutional.
The film includes footage of protests outside the Massachusetts State House, the churches of the Reverends Rich Wiesenbach and Carlton Smith, and the state legislature leading up to May 17, 2004, the first date same-sex couples could file for
marriage licenses
A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictio ...
in Massachusetts.
Interviews
''The Gay Marriage Thing ''includes interviews with
United Church of Christ
The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
Reverend Richard Wiesenbach, Massachusetts
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Kathi-Anne Reinstein,
Unitarian Universalist
Unitarian or Unitarianism may refer to:
Christian and Christian-derived theologies
A Unitarian is a follower of, or a member of an organisation that follows, any of several theologies referred to as Unitarianism:
* Unitarianism (1565–present) ...
Reverend Carlton Smith, as well as the featured couple and a multitude of man-on-the-street interviews.
Distribution
In 2005 the Cinema Guild released the film on
DVD
The DVD (common abbreviation for Digital Video Disc or Digital Versatile Disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any kin ...
in the United States.
Film Festivals
Artivist Film Festival
The Artivist Film Festival & Awards is an international film festival and awards ceremony dedicated to recognizing activist efforts of filmmakers, specifically in the areas of human rights, child advocacy, environmental preservation, and animal ri ...
Los Angeles – November 11, 2006
Boston Gay and Lesbian Film/Video Festival – May 21, 2006
Boston Jewish Film Festival
The Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF) is an annual film festival that screens the best contemporary films on Jewish themes from around the world. The festival presents features, shorts, documentaries, and conversations with visiting artists in o ...
– November 8, 2004 (sneak preview work in progress)
Breckenridge Festival of Film, Colorado – September 10, 2005
Camden International Film Festival
The Camden International Film Festival, stylized as CIFF, is an annual documentary film festival based in Camden, Rockport, and Rockland, Maine, in the United States that takes place on the last weekend in September.
Created in 2005 by Benjamin ...
, Maine – September 30, 2005
Maine Jewish Film Festival – March 14, 2005
New England Film and Video Festival, Massachusetts – October 9, 2005
New Hampshire Film Expo – October 15, 2005
Chicago Reeling Film Festival – November 4, 2005
Reel Identities Film Festival – New Orleans – June 11, 2005 *2nd place audience favorite
Rhode Island International Film Festival
Flickers' Rhode Island International Film Festival (RIIFF) takes place every year in Providence and Newport, Rhode Island as well as satellite locations throughout the state.
History
Started in 1997, the Festival is produced by Flickers, the ...
– August 11, 2005
Women on Film Festival Key West, FL – September 5, 2007
References
Film Arcade Film Review, November 21, 2008.
Cinema Guild The Cinema Guild.
Filmmakers Collaborative August 2008.
Bay Windows July 2, 2008.
Lesbilicious Filmmaker Interview, September 15, 2008.
Women On Film Festival, Key West
PFLAG
PFLAG is the United States' first and largest organization uniting parents, families, and allies with people who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+). PFLAG National is the national organization, which provides support to ...
Chapter, September 5, 2007.
Boston Spirit Magazine The Gay Marriage Thing Well Worth Toasting, December, 2006.
In Newsweekly Marriage Celebrated On Film, May 17, 2006.
New England Film & Video Fest, Issue #61, Vol. 13: Winter 2006.
Look Over Here On The Big Screen, October 12, 2005.
Summit Daily News Gay Marriage Thing Takes A Shot At The Festival Of Film, September 8, 2005.
Berkeley Beacon November 4, 2004
* "The Gay Marriage Review Thing," The Anchor, April 18, 2006
Edge Magazine Boston MA Filmmaker Makes a Difference With Documentary, May 10, 2006
External links
''The Gay Marriage Thing''official website.
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gay Marriage Thing, The
2005 films
Documentary films about same-sex marriage in the United States
2005 documentary films
Lesbian culture in Massachusetts
2005 LGBT-related films
2000s English-language films
2000s American films
American LGBT-related documentary films