Prop 8 Documentary '8-The Mormon Proposition' Makes It Into Sundance; Protests Being Planned By Anti-LGBT Forces

The documentary 8 - The Mormon Proposition, which chronicles the passage of the first ever voter-approved initiative that stripped existing rights way from a segment of the U.S. population, has made it into the Sundance Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah, home of the Mormon Church.

From their press release:

DAVID v. GOLIATH PRODUCTIONS announced this week that their new and highly anticipated documentary, 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, a film by Reed Cowan & narrated by Oscar-winning writer of MILK, Dustin Lance Black, will debut its world premiere at the world renowned SUNDANCE FILM FESTIVAL in January 2010.

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Months ago, in an interview with THE ADVOCATE magazine, SUNDANCE's John Cooper said: "I think we're going to see a lot more hard-hitting political documentaries. Prop. 8 was sort of a wake-up call. I can see that fire in the belly to finish this thing off, to get to the next phase in American life."

Everyone involved with 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION is honored to be a part of what Mr. Cooper was talking about. 8:TMP is indeed the hardest-hitting political documentary to be released in years. It is to Mormons and their anti-gay allies what Fahrenheit 9-11 was to the Bush Administration.

That's why our team will have a ground presence in Park City and Salt Lake City the likes of which has never been seen before through our SLC manager Jacob Whipple. For that, we'll be enlisting the help of thousands of people ... details to come.

Director Reed Cowan, who is gay and was raised Mormon, told the Salt Lake Tribune, "We're bringing the pain of this home."

"It's really well done, and it's really thorough," festival director John Cooper said. "[Cowan] goes very deep, into the Mormon Church and its relationship to the anti-gay-marriage movement, all the way back almost before it really started, all the way back to the '90s."

Standard Net Live is reporting that the documentary's acceptance into the film festival will spark protests and boycotts from anti-LGBT forces.

Gee, what a shock.

VIDEO: NO on 1 Documentary Covers the Last Days of the Campaign

This short documentary released by New Left Media chronicles the final days of the NO on 1/Protect Maine Equality campaign, specifically covering the field operation.





Jesse Connolly, the NO on 1 campaign manager, recently wrote on the Huffington Post, examining what he believes happened in Maine.

It's clear that polling research, both ours and others, did not capture the intensity of Yes on 1 support. Polling cannot predict turnout and the impact of Tuesday's turnout was counterintuitive. We weren't alone: our opponents, political observers and field operatives all believed a high turnout benefited the NO on 1 vote. With voting approaching 60% in Maine, it's clear that wasn't true.

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I'm not skirting anything here when I suggest that we need to remember that it was not long ago when we were losing in double digits, when they threw an anti-marriage equality question on a ballot in a presidential year to drive conservatives to the polls.

It may turn out to be simply this: that by moving this basic premise of equality from the sink hole of catastrophic defeat state after state, year after year, to within striking distance of a win, that we are almost to the finish line. This tide is turning and you can tell by the histrionics from our opponents, from their "gathering storm."

Jesse also references how entrenched people are in their views on marriage equality, and how difficult it is to change people's minds in a matter of months during a short, initiative campaign.

This just underlines my opinion and push for long-term educational campaigns. During these campaigns, you don't have a time constraint, you don't have a looming vote hanging over voters heads who experience the pressure of two sides pounding their messages unto them. They're more open, more willing to listen, even if they don't necessarily agree.

It's during these educational campaigns that we can have the conversations with those who right now may not be for us, the conversations that Jesse refers to that are so desperately needed. Many believe that an educational campaign is a cop out to going back to the ballot. It's not. It's the foundation for a vote. It's the hard, scary work of endless hours without a definite vote in the future. But without this hard work, a victory at the inevitable ballot becomes further out of reach.

VIDEO: Trailer for "8 - The Mormon Proposition"

The documentary 8 - The Mormon Proposition chronicles the passage of the first ever voter-approved initiative that stripped existing rights way from a segment of the U.S. population - Proposition 8. The picture delves into the Mormon Church's involvement and the following fallout.



Pam Spaulding reports, "Producer Steven Greenstreet . . . says it has just been submitted to Sundance other festivals. He was a journalist in 2008, and did a lot of coverage of Prop 8. When he left his news agency, he began working with the crew that made this documentary."

Controversial Documentary 'Outrage' to Debut Exclusively on HBO

They fight against same-sex marriage. They fight against funding for AIDS research. They fight against adoption by gay parents. Are they fighting against themselves?

Award-winning filmmaker Kirby Dick (HBO’s Oscar®-nominated “Twist of Faith”) takes a look at the hypocrisy of closeted politicians who continually vote against gay rights and actively campaign against the LGBT community they covertly belong to in the controversial documentary, Outrage.



Outrage will debut exclusively on HBO MONDAY, OCT. 5 (9:00-10:30 p.m. ET/PT), exclusively on HBO.

Other HBO playdates: Oct. 5 (2:30 a.m.), 8 (1:00 p.m., 8:30 p.m.), 11 (10:30 a.m.), 14 (4:25 a.m.), 15 (6:00 p.m.), 20 (3:30 p.m., 12:05 a.m.), 24 (6:30 p.m.) and 30 (4:00 p.m.)

HBO2 playdates: Oct. 14 (8:00 p.m.), 22 (12:05 a.m.) and 28 (11:00 a.m.)

Find out more at HBO.

MUST SEE VIDEO: "Edie and Thea - A Very Long Engagement."

Edie and Thea were engaged for 42 years before they were able to legally marry in Canada. The video below covers the making of the documentary memorializing their relationship and desire to be married. This clip made me tear up. I can't imagine how I'll respond when I actually see it.