USA,
2004, 75 min
Shown in 2005
CREDITS
- dir
-
Geoff Callan, Mike Shaw
- prod
-
Geoff Callan
- editor
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Mike Shaw
- source
-
Pursuit of Equality, LLC, 2600 Tenth St, Berkeley, CA 94710. FAX: 415-885-2240. EMAIL: pursuitofequality@yahoo.com.
- premiere
-
World Premiere
-
COMMENTS
Geoff Callan, Mike Shaw in person. Mayor Gavin Newsom and many subjects in the film in attendance at the Castro Theatre screening.
OTHER
On February 12, 2004, the City of San Francisco made history by issuing same-sex marriage licenses. Led by Mayor Gavin Newsom, the city continued to marry gay and lesbian couples until the California Supreme Court issued an immediate halt on March 11, 2004. Over 3,900 couples were married, a long-in-coming national debate began to rage and directors Geoff Callan and Mike Shaw were there to record the entire affair. The result is Pursuit of Equality, a document of this groundbreaking series of events and a tribute to the people who were involved—those who were married and those who, even more importantly, decided to make same-sex marriage a civic policy. The film begins with the first couple married, lesbian movement icons and senior citizens Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon. We then move into the streets, where hundreds lined up to participate and others to protest. Most intriguingly, Pursuit of Equality goes behind the scenes to portray those who triggered the entire event: the mayor, his staff and the city court. In a remarkable 75 minutes, Pursuit of Equality captures one cataclysmic month, thousands of marriages and a bureaucratic decision that deeply affected many lives. The events also moved a lifetime of struggle forward and stirred a dialogue that began in San Francisco and continues around the nation.
FACTOID #92
In 1997, the 40 th anniversary of the Festival, four films shared the spotlight for opening night: Bliss, Love Valour! Compassion, Wake Up Love and When the Cat’s Away.
