hate through home videos posted on their You Tube channel, Gay Family ....
women's groups, and sex education activists have sought out "Daddy I Do" for.
Jaye Bird Productions, LLC.
Contact: Cassie Jaye
[email protected] www.R2Lmovie.com
CREDIT LIST: Directed by: Cassie Jaye Produced by: Jay Pugh ... executive producer Christina Clack ... producer Cassie Jaye ... producer Nena Jaye ... producer Ford Austin ... producer Marc Wasserman ... producer Matthew C. Mason ... associate producer Featuring interviews with: Bryan Leffew ... Himself Jay Foxworthy ... Himself Daniel Leffew ... Himself Selena Leffew ... Herself Denise Miney ... Herself Justin R. Cannon ... Himself Original Music by: Edwin Wendler Edited by: Cassie Jaye Camera and Electrical Department: Cassie Jaye … cinematographer Nena Jaye … cinematographer Sean Chapin ... first assistant camera Angelina Galindo ... still photographer Nathan Haugaard ... second unit director of photography Sound Department: Mac Smith ... supervising sound editor Steve Orlando ... sound editor Frank Clary ... re-‐recording mixer Sean England ... foley mixer Ronni Pitman ... foley artist Charlotte Moore ... post-‐production sound accountant
Visual Effects Department: Tony Hudson ... visual consultant Music Department: James Fitzpatrick ... music contractor Jan Holzner ... music recording engineer Jakub Mayer ... musician: cello solos Herman Owen ... score mixer Song Artists: Steven Martini … “I Am” Trey Lockerbie … “Plastic”, “Solar Flare” and “Hummingbird” Daniel Kamas … “Seven” Matthew Woolfrey … “Crayons” Wendell Lee … “In Time” Thanks: Steve Anderson ... very special thanks Victor Kaply ... special thanks Phil Benson ... special thanks Mike Lane ... special thanks Glenn Berkenkamp ... special thanks Jordan Livingston ... special thanks Adam Bouska ... special thanks Jeff Parshley ... special thanks Ken Clark ... special thanks Carrie Perry ... special thanks Ryan Cooper ... thanks Therese Stewart ... special thanks Jonathan Greber ... special thanks Kip Williams ... special thanks Orada Jusatayanond ... special thanks Lynn Woolsey ... special thanks Production Company Jaye Bird Productions, LLC. Larkspur, CA Other Companies Ghost Free Zone ... music mixed at Skywalker Sound ... post production sound services Nicasio, CA http://www.skysound.com Smécky Studios ... music recorded at Prague, Czech Republic http://www.barrandov.cz/en/smecky-‐recording-‐studio
RUNTIME: 88 minutes STATUS:
Pre-‐production began in January 2009. Post-‐Production was completed in December 2011. The documentary film had its World Premiere on February 6th, 2012 at the legendary Castro Theatre in San Francisco, California.
WEBSITE:
www.R2Lmovie.com
LOGLINE:
One family took action.
SYNOPSIS:
While the passionate debate over the legitimacy of Marriage Equality in the United States rages on, the LGBT community continues to fight for their slice of the American dream. Powered by media, religion and influential anti-‐gay organizations comprised of strange bedfellows, the civil right of marriage continues to be held just out of reach for many LGBT citizens. The Right To Love: An American Family chronicles one story of courage born out of the highly mediatized and controversial Prop 8 2008 election results in California. A private Californian married Gay couple and their two adopted children fight back against discrimination, ignorance and hate through home videos posted on their You Tube channel, Gay Family Values. As they pursue their American Dream, the opposing political, social and religious opinions that pervade society attempts to strip it from them.
SCREENINGS: December 12, 2011 – Pre-‐screening at Skywalker Ranch (Novato, CA) February 6, 2012 – World Premiere event at the Castro Theatre (San Francisco, CA) February 11, 2012 – Queer Film Festival (Eugene, OR) March 1, 2012 – Smith Rafael Theatre (San Rafael, CA) March 3, 2012 – MCC Church (San Francisco, CA) March 12, 2012 – Sonoma State University (Sonoma, CA) March 18, 2012 – Starr King Unitarian Universalist Church (Hayward, CA) April 14, 2012 – Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh, PA) May 28, 2012 – Opening night screening for Pride Week (Kansas City, MO) September 21, 2012 – Liberty Education Forum National Symposium (Washington D.C.)
AWARDS: On March 8, 2012, “The Right to Love: An American Family” was awarded four Telly Awards. The film won a Silver Telly Award (top honor) for ‘Social Issues Film’, and the film won three Bronze Telly Awards for ‘Entertainment’, ‘Low Budget Film’, and ‘Sound/Sound Design’. Press Release announcement: http://www.prlog.org/11821994-‐the-‐right-‐to-‐love-‐an-‐american-‐family-‐selected-‐ silver-‐winner-‐in-‐the-‐33rd-‐annual-‐telly-‐awards.html
DIRECTOR STATEMENT: Letter from the director and producers of "The Right to Love: An American Family": In January 2009, we decided to tackle the topic of marriage equality for our next feature documentary. Although the three of us didn’t have a personal connection to the issue nor had any close LGBT family members or friends at the time, we knew that capturing this important debate through the lens of our “straight” perspective (combined with our fundamentally religious upbringing) could bring a different voice to the discussion. Initially Christina Clack stumbled upon the Leffew family on YouTube. At that point, only three videos were posted. After watching those few videos, we were immediately drawn to the love that surrounded this family and realized that we had found something truly special for “The Right to Love: An American Family”. Through
the course of getting to know them over the next two years and watching their family fight against discrimination and hate as they shared their love and hope for a better tomorrow to desperate LGBT youth, we were transformed. We realized this was no longer the Leffew’s fight or the LGBT community’s fight. Regardless of our sexual orientation, as American citizens, we are all in this together. This film was created to transcend the supportive “choir” and reach beyond through the use of compassionate storytelling. Our goal is to present not only a documentary that reveals the issues in an approachable way, but to ultimately change the hearts and minds of those who straddle the fence on the importance of true equality. Thanks to all those who have helped us bring this film to completion; the producers who have come on board and invested their money and time, the talented musicians who have graciously donated their creative work, the videographers who kindly lent their film, the post production professionals at Skywalker Sound who expertly reduced our mistakes while elevating the quality of sound, and lastly, thank you to the Leffew family, for providing the bridge to the hearts of the viewers. We hope this film, and the journey it will take you on, will transform your hearts and minds like it has ours. Sincerely, Cassie Jaye (Director) Christina Clack (Producer) Nena Jaye (Producer)
FILMMAKER BIO:
Cassie Jaye: Director, Producer, Editor Marin County filmmaker, Cassie Jaye, started working in the film industry at 16 years old, acting in numerous independent films, TV shows, and commercials. At age 21, Jaye decided to go behind the camera to document social issues she was passionate about. In 2008, she founded Jaye Bird Productions with her family, Nena Jaye (mother) and Christina Clack (sister), to produce high-‐quality entertainment that expands the mind and encourages progressive thought and action. Jaye Bird Productions first film, and Jaye’s directorial debut, "Daddy I Do" follows Abstinence-‐Only Programs in America and examines the choices people make based on the sexual education they had received. "Daddy I Do" had its World Premiere at the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema in January 2010 and won the award for Best Documentary. It went on to the San Diego IndieFest in March 2010, and the Bare Bones Int’l Film Festival in April 2010 where it won the award for Best Docu-‐ Drama. Recently, "Daddy I Do" screened at the Cannes Independent Film Festival on
May 22nd, 2010, where it won the award for Best Documentary. Universities, women’s groups, and sex education activists have sought out "Daddy I Do" for sponsored screenings to help raise awareness and encourage discussion on the future of Sex Education in America. Currently, Planned Parenthood is hosting screenings of "Daddy I Do" around the United States to help their cause and commitment to promoting Comprehensive Sex Education. Jaye then directed "Faces Overlooked", an award-‐winning short documentary about Marin County’s hidden hunger crisis. This short won 2nd Prize in the ‘Faces of Hunger in America’ film contest hosted by the Palms for Life Fund, and was selected by YouTube’s Video Volunteers to be featured on the YouTube homepage on Thanksgiving Day 2009. "Faces Overlooked" premiered at the Tiburon International Film Festival in March 2010, and continues to be used as a vehicle online to help promote the hidden hunger crisis in the Bay Area. Jaye Bird Productions' latest feature documentary, "The Right to Love: An American Family", follows the debate around legalizing same-‐sex marriage in America. The film highlights the Leffew Family (a legally married gay couple in the state of California and their two adopted kids), and show's their struggle for equal rights and protections under the law. California's passage of Proposition 8 in 2008 (which made same-‐sex marriage illegal) sparked the Leffew Family to take action. They started the Gay Family Values YouTube page and posted up their most intimate home videos online for all of the world to see what a gay family looks like. "The Right to Love: An American Family" will premiere in 2012 at Film Festivals.
PRODUCTION NOTES: "Controversy around the family's prayer " The filmmakers at Jaye Bird Productions are no stranger to controversy, coming from our first feature documentary "Daddy I Do" (which was pulled from a theater in the filmmaker's hometown a year ago, in which the public's outcry brought it back: http://www.pacificsun.com/news/show_story.php?id=2457), but the controversy over the latest trailer for "The Right to Love: An American Family" was over something that the filmmakers did not see coming. In The Huffington Post review for "The Right to Love: An American Family" (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-‐schaeffer/the-‐two-‐men-‐kissing-‐ gutch_b_1073307.html),writer and author Frank Schaeffer wrote: "...in an odd turn some LGBTQ bloggers are turning against the project. These attacks are due to a simple family grace recorded in the movie that's no more than a prayer made by the fathers at the breakfast table before sending the kids to school. This 'controversial' scene was included in the trailer. And apparently some members of the LGBTQ community don't like this." Since the prayer scene was included in the trailer, some fans have turned their back
on the film stating that gay people can't be religious as well, which feeds into a whole new type of discrimination. If religious people are saying gay people are an abomination, and gay people are turning their backs against gay people of Faith, where can religious gay people be accepted? Here is the latest trailer for "The Right to Love: An American Family": http://www.R2Lmovie.com/#!/page_Trailer The filmmakers had no intention or expectation of the prayer (between a gay married couple and their kids) being as controversial as it has turned out to be.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING:
“The Right to Love: An American Family is a beautiful and remarkable film that has the power to make a bold advocate of even the most taciturn and timid supporter of same-‐sex marriage. By portraying the love, dedication, and faithfulness shared by family members in a household headed by two men, the film provides an unassailable rebuttal to those who argue that marriage equality presents an existential threat to the welfare and happiness of American society." -
Ben Daniel Presbyterian minister and writer for The Huffington Post and KQED’s Perspective program
“This is a movie to watch for. It's another one of those steps toward a much better world... you never know which small step will be the game changer. -
Randy Roberts Potts Public Speaker, Gay Rights Activist and Oral Roberts Grandson
“The Right to Love was like a powerful dose of chemotherapy applied to a heretofore recalcitrant spiritual tumor. As I watched the film I also "watched" my Bible-‐based tumor of gut reaction about the "other" shrink. Put it this way: by the last male-‐on-‐ male kiss in the movie I wasn't just rooting for the two married family men doing the tender kissing but didn't care that they were "same-‐sex" because I now identified with them as "same-‐as-‐me." I was happy for them to have found the same love, sex and joy I've experienced in my own 41-‐year marriage. There are deservedly high expectations for The Right To Love: An American Family… a portrait of a good marriage is something that should interest everyone who cares about the future of America. So I hope the film reaches more than one segment of the population.” -
Frank Schaefer Author, son of Evangelical leader Francis Schaefer, and writer for The Huffington Post
ARTICLES: Huffington Post (11/03/11) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/frank-‐schaeffer/the-‐two-‐men-‐kissing-‐gutch_b_1073307.html The Advocate Magazine (11/08/11) http://www.advocate.com/News/News_Features/A_Strategy_for_Changing_Minds_Focus_on_the_Ga y_Family/ The SF Examiner (01/27/12) http://www.examiner.com/lgbt-‐issues-‐in-‐san-‐francisco/the-‐gay-‐movie-‐conservatives-‐don-‐t-‐want-‐ you-‐to-‐see Marin Independent Journal (02/03/12) http://www.marinij.com/larkspurcortemadera/ci_19888849 San Rafael Patch (01/30/12) http://sanrafael.patch.com/articles/local-‐director-‐set-‐to-‐release-‐new-‐documentary
REVIEWS: Huffington Post (02/03/12) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-‐daniel/film-‐review-‐the-‐right-‐to-‐_b_1245226.html Aisle Seat (02/05/12) http://aisleseat.com/right2love.htm
INTERVIEWS: The Rumpus (03/01/12) http://therumpus.net/2012/03/the-‐rumpus-‐interview-‐with-‐cassie-‐jaye/ Popdose (02/01/12) http://popdose.com/the-‐right-‐to-‐love-‐interview-‐with-‐filmmaker-‐cassie-‐jaye/
RADIO:
San Jose’s 94.5 KBay and Mix 106.5 (01/29/12) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIxxMiSePpM&feature=youtu.be The Gianna and Chasta Show ( 02/01/12) http://giannaandchasta.com/?p=88
NEWS COVERAGE: KTVU Channel 2 News (03/03/12) http://youtu.be/9YyuwNEe13U KTVU’s 10 O’Clock News (03/02/12) http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/documentary-‐north-‐bay-‐same-‐sex-‐parents-‐screens-‐mar/nLJwk/
AUDIENCE RESPONSE VIDEOS: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXnPDz8wD4U&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m8AEP1R2eAc&feature=youtu.be http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPGqFVH8dXg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJ4_C8UAcKs http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PcnTrNQuFI0
