When I spoke to Eddie Rosenstein by phone on June 22, 2016, the first thing I wanted him to discuss was how important it was to remember the decades-long struggle for marriage equality. We went on to talk about his personal connection to one his subjects, Evan Wolfson, of the Freedom to Marry Coalition, and how the film as a whole came about because Rosenstein didn’t want to make the same mistake twice when it came to documenting his remarkable friend’s remarkable life.
Rosenstein described what it was like for him to be witness to so much history, the emotions he went through while waiting for that court decision to come down, and why that decision in favor of same-sex marriage wasn’t the end of the story for Wolfson’s continued fight for equality.
FREEDOM TO MARRY is a close-up look at the legal fight to make marriage equality a reality. Focusing on two attorneys, Evan Wolfson and Mary Bonauto, Rosenstein follows the two as they formulate strategy, prepare legal briefs, and muse on the history that they are making . He also includes the grass-roots movement strategy of having conversations one-on-one with people to explain specifically why marriage, not domestic partnership, is important. Though the Supreme Court verdict of June 2015 is well-known, the way Rosenstein shows us the waiting day-by-day for the verdict to come down, and the raw emotion that so many years of effort have built up to creates an overwhelming sense of suspense. Rosenstein’s previous work includes TICKLE IN THE HEART, WAGING A LIVING, SCHOOL PLAY, SANDHOGS, BOATLIFT, REALITY PEOPLE and THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MR. ALLEN.
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