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Tying The Knot
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Jim de Seve
USA | 2003 | 82mins | Beta | Colour
Three years in the making, Tying The Knot documents
the political war between gay people who want to marry
and those deter-mined to stop them. When a bank robber's
bullet ends the life of cop Lois Marrero, her wife
of thirteen years, Mickie, discovers a police department
willing to accept the women's relationship, but unwilling
to release Lois' pension. When Sam, an Oklahoma rancher
loses his husband of 25 years, cousins of his deceased
spouse challenge his will and move to evict Sam from
his home. As Mickie and Sam take up battle stations
to defend their lives, Tying The Knot digs deeply
into the meaning of mar-riage today. From an historical
trip to the Middle Ages, to gay hippies storming the
Manhattan marriage bureau in 1971, this eye-opening
exploration of the embattled institution looks at
rights, privilege and love as gay activists and right-wing
politicos lock horns in the fight for marriage.
Best Documentary, San Francisco International Lesbian
& Gay Film Festival
A tremendous, accomplished work...a must see. - Philadelphia
Gay & Lesbian Film Festival
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Written On The Soul
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Carol O'Keeffe
Ireland | 2003 | 50mins | Beta | Colour
This is a 50-minute documentary that commits to taking
a fresh look at the complex issue of gender identity
in an Irish context. Three individuals that occupy
various positions on the gender spectrum are interviewed.
Lucie/Richard and Diane, both Cork-based, and Stephen,
based in Dublin, all dare to transgress the strict
social dichotomy between male and female, in one way
or another. The documentary is a synthesis of their
personal testimonies regarding their unique gender
journeys. The traditional frameworks for gender identity
discussions, such as medical science, psychology and
sociology remain in the background, as the subjects
essentially speak for themselves about their extraordinary
decisions but ultimately ordinary lives. The perennial
questions: "What is gender identity?" and
"Where is it located in the individual?"
are also posed. Short sequences of abstract images
and voiceover interrupt the literal narrative in an
attempt to understand these concepts. The gender spectrum
in all its complexity and diversity is presented to
the viewer in these 50 minutes.
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