Massachusetts has always played a key role in American history.  Site to both the Boston Tea Party and the Battles of Bunker Hill, it is where Paul Revere rode to warn everyone that 'the British are coming' and where generations of Kennedy's have called home and it’s where our best and brightest are educated at Harvard and MIT.  The heart of New England now finds itself at the epicenter of a nationwide debate on the future of marriage in America.  In May of 2004, six months after the state Supreme Court ruling allowing same sex couples to marry, gays and lesbians partners were formalizing their love and bonds in legally recognized ceremonies state-wide.  Yet the new ruling was not met with acceptance by everyone and soon communities were divided, some trying to define marriage as an institution solely for men and women and others fighting to save it as a civil right for everyone.  In this fascinating documentary filmmakers Mike Roth and John Henning take us inside the hearts and homes of those most affected by this issue and to the center of the campaigns of citizens turned activists fighting for a cause that effects the entire nation.   In a time when all other state sanctioned same-sex unions have been nullified, Massachusetts remains a beacon of liberty and equality in the US.

Preceded by

The Essay Assignment, Dir. Jennifer Lin, US, 4min, video. EAST COAST PREMIER. Straight high school student Nicole Kim explains why she decided to write about marriage equality as her essay assignment in 8th grade

I Just Want To Be Somebody, Dir. Jay Rosenblatt, 2006, 10min, video. Orange juice, the religious right, and gay activists in Miami-Dade are brought together in this documentary muse on Anita Bryants life and influence.

Total running time: 120 mins
(including discussion with Equality Florida following film)

Career Synopsis

John Henning is a practicing attorney and graduate of the University of California, Berkeley. Before his legal career, he was a journalist and advertising copywriter. Saving Marriage is his first documentary film.

Mike Roth began his career as a news cameraman in Michigan in 1989.   Now based in Los Angeles, he has traveled around the U.S. and across six continents shooting news and reality TV.  Credits include The Apprentice, The Amazing Race, The Simple Life, and Flavor of Love