GLAAD Interviews Director of Oscar®-Nominated Freeheld - Gay news and Lesbian newspaper including, Local, National and International Level.

The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) had an exclusive interview today with Cynthia Wade, director of Freeheld, nominated this morning for an Academy Award ® in the category of “Best Documentary Short Subject.”

Freeheld documents the struggle of New Jersey Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester in her effort to transfer her pension to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree. With less than six months to live as cancer spreads to her brain, Laurel battles the Ocean County Freeholders, her elected officials, to give to Stacie what heterosexual married couples receive automatically. The film captures both the very public and urgent dispute with the Freeholders, as well as Laurel and Stacie’s intensely private struggle as they come to terms with losing one another.

In an interview with GLAAD’s Director of Entertainment Media Damon Romine, Cynthia Wade, a straight ally, spoke to how the film documents a non-traditional community of support for Laurel.

“[I]n the film, the most, sort of staunchest allies that really stood by Laurel’s side were these straight, kind of dominating, macho cops that normally would not be considered gay allies,” said Wade. “But because they saw one of their favorite police partners face discrimination, they realized it was wrong and said, ’No, we’re going to stand up as a community and say this is wrong. It’s about equality.’ So one of the greatest things about this film is that we’ve really been able to bring in hybrid audiences from across the country so that everybody can talk about equal rights because it’s everybody’s responsibility.”

Wade went on to talk about the influence she hopes to have with the film as an agent of social change.

“I’m a mother of two young daughters, and I just have to say that I want them to grow up in a world where all couples are afforded the same rights. And who’s to say, quite frankly. They’re very young – my younger daughter is only two. But who’s to say. It’s possible that one of my children may come out to me at some point, and if that’s true I want to be the kind of parent to embrace her and say, ’I love you. I hope you meet somebody that you’re really happy with, and they’re welcome in our home.’ I mean, I want to be able to do that and lead the way potentially for other heterosexual parents because we need to have a country where everybody is equal and is afforded the same rights.”

Video of the entire interview can be found at http://glaadblog.blogspot.com/2008/01/exclusive-interview-with-oscar.html.

About GLAAD
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of people and events in the media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. For more information, please visit www.glaad.org.

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