DATE: March 16, 2009 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MILL CITY TAKES ON “THE GAY MARRIAGE THING” MOVIE
MILL CITY TAKES ON “THE GAY MARRIAGE THING” MOVIE
LOWELL, MA – The Gay Marriage Thing film will screen for the first time in the Mill City on Wednesday, April 15, 2009 at 7:00pm at Christ Church United who is co-hosting the community film event with the Lowell Film Collaborative. Director Stephanie Higgins and Executive Producer Lorre Fritchy will be in attendance to lead a Q&A following the film, which presents the politics, the piety and the people embroiled in and affected by the heated debate over same-sex marriage.
Even as the 5th anniversary of legal gay marriage in Massachusetts approaches, the topic continues to inspire heated debate on a national level. For a film in its third year of distribution, The Gay Marriage Thing remains as timely as ever. “As a long time fan of documentary film, I watch them more and more to gain fresh insight and support for long held beliefs but not to examine those beliefs,” says film reviewer Mathius Mack Gertz of Film Arcade. “The Gay Marriage Thing has given me cause to reexamine certain perspectives. That is saying much for a short documentary in this day and age or in any day and age for that matter.”
Committed to making this community film event accessible to everyone, the organizers are providing child daycare and keeping the price to a suggested $5 donation. “Community and family are at the center of The Gay Marriage Thing,” said Director Stephanie Higgins. “People of all opinions and walks of life grace the cast of the film. Everyone talks without interruption so you see deeply into what’s being said.” As for the community off the screen, Higgins says, “When the film is over, that deep discussion is continued for the audience, whether they are at home in their living room or at a live Q&A, the film is ported to reality after every credit roll.”
Gayle and Lorre, 30-something college sweethearts who marked their 15th anniversary a year after
the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled a ban on same-sex marriage unconstitutional, are at the heart
of this documentary scrapbook. From the protests outside the Massachusetts State House, to the
churches of the Rev. Rich Wiesenbach and Carlton Smith, to the historic chambers echoing with
State Rep. Kathi-Anne Reinstein’s perspective, a wide range of voices swirl around Gayle and Lorre
as they approach the first date same-sex couples could file for marriage licenses in Massachusetts.
DATE: Wednesday, April 15 2009
TIME: 7:00PM
VENUE: Christ Church United, Lowell, is located at 180 E. Merrimack Street. On street parking is available in addition to free parking at Saints Medical Center.
Web: www.wewelcomeall.org or www.lowellfilmcollaborative.org
ADMISSION: $5 Suggested donation
RSVP’s appreciated by April 10 to Suzzanne Cromwell at lowellfilmcollaborative@live.com.
SPONSORS: Christ Church United, UCC
For interviews or to review the film, contact the director, Stephanie Higgins, SassyMedia, PO Box 132, Belmont MA 02478, 617-821-5590, info@thegaymarriagething.com, or visit www.thegaymarriagething.com.
For distribution information, contact The Cinema Guild, 130 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016-7038, 1-800-723-5522 or 212-685-6242, info@cinemaguild.com, www.cinemaguild.com.
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