Berkley Beacon

Emerson alum screens film at Boston Jewish Film Festival
By: Liz Raftery
November 4, 2004
Read the article on the Berkley Beacon web site

An unconventional entry in the Boston Jewish Film Festival (BJFF) is The Gay Marriage Thing, directed by Emerson alumnus Stephanie Higgins. A work-in-progress, the film documents the recent controversy over homosexuals' right to marry, particularly in Massachusetts.

According to Higgins, the project will eventually be a 45- to 50-minute short, but only the first 15 minutes will be screened at the BJFF.

The film centers around one Massachusetts lesbian couple planning their wedding, and the controversy that surrounds them.
Higgins began filming footage that would become The Gay Marriage Thing on a whim after she was allowed to listen in on the State House legislation in February regarding the gay marriage "thing," and then discussed the issue with protesters outside.
"Some of [the people there] made me cry, some of them made me laugh, some of them made me really angry," Higgins, herself a lesbian, said in a recent phone interview with The Beacon. "They were talking about me, about my life."

By the time Higgins left the rally, she realized that she had the makings of a documentary on her hands. However, her initial inspiration came months before.

"What really started it was when the ruling came down on November 18th, when the Supreme Court finally said 'this [discrimination] is wrong," Higgins said. "I had never thought about being married, as a gay person myself...I literally cried that day because the thought had never occurred to me before."
Higgins knew it was important to include all sides of the issue in The Gay Marriage Thing.

"It's a complicated issue," she said. "It's much more complicated than what you see on the news. That's the point of the project."
A common misperception is that the film is geared towards only gay rights activists, but in reality the filmmakers hope to create food for thought for people on both sides of the issue.

"One of the things that makes [this documentary] different is that we really thought out the opposite opinions...Our audience is people who are questioning about the issue," Higgins said.

"Our intent is to start a dialogue," she continued. "Everyone is treated with the same amount of respect in the film. Hopefully everyone can find someone they can relate to."