Ryan White and Ben Cotner's The Case Against 8
HBO Documentary Films' anticipated film The Case Against 8 will have a special advance screening at the Film Society of Lincoln Center May 29 at the Walter Reade Theater. Filmmakers Ben Cotner and Ryan White will be joined by plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo for a post-screening conversation.
[Related: Screening and ticket information can be found here.]
Days after Barack Obama was elected president, activists hatched a plan to overturn California’s Proposition 8, the 2008 state constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. They found plaintiffs Kris Perry and Sandy Stier and Paul Katami and Jeff Zarrillo and enlisted a surprising legal team, David Boies and Ted Olson. Because Boies and Olson were adversaries in the famous Bush v. Gore Supreme Court case that paved the path to the U.S. presidency for George W. Bush, marriage equality supporters were rightfully stunned when the lawyers joined forces to fight Prop 8.
The Case Against 8 chronicles the two California couples who spearheaded the fight to overturn Prop 8 so that they could legally marry. The film finds human emotion in behind-closed-doors moments during this personal but public fight for marriage equality. It won the documentary directing prize at Sundance, where it had its world premiere. The Case Against 8 opens in select cities on June 6 and debuts on HBO on June 23.
The film also features recent Chaplin Award honoree Rob Reiner who along with wife Michele Singer Reiner and others helped kick off the challenge against Prop 8 in California. Reiner, along with Olson and Boies attended the world premiere of The Case Against 8 at Sundance in January. “I've seen The Case Against 8 a few times already and I cry every time,” Reiner told FilmLinc Daily prior to receiving the Chaplin Award last month.
[The screening will take place at the Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street. All tickets are $20 and are available for purchase now at Filmlinc.com.]
