Freeheld Wins Oscar for Best Short Documentary

From Gay City News:

"Freeheld: The Laurel Hester Story," Cynthia Wade's 38-minute film that chronicled the battle of a 25-year veteran of the Ocean County, New Jersey police, as she was dying of cancer, to transfer her earned pension to her lesbian partner, won the Oscar for Best Short Documentary in Hollywood on February 24.

Ocean County freeholders had the legal option to extend those benefits under New Jersey's 2004 domestic partner law, but did not do so until Lieutenant Hester waged her successful struggle on partner Stacie Andree's behalf against their initially adamant refusal.

Garden State Equality, the New Jersey LGBT civil rights lobby, celebrated the film's nomination (and victory) at the South Orange Performing Arts Center while the Oscar broadcast was being aired.

Garden State Equality worked with Hester on her effort, and the film documentary represents one of the most powerful examples in GSE's lobbying campaign to educate voters on why complete marriage equality is the only way in which same-sex couples can be assured of the rights and benefits that New Jersey's Supreme Court now requires.

In a striking irony, the Oscar was announced by a group of American service members via a satellite feed from Baghdad, a nearly unprecedented opportunity for the US military to speak out on behalf of LGBT equality.

PageOne Q has more on the film and the people and views behind it.

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.

“Freeheld shows the power that personal stories have to change hearts and minds and to move a community to action,” said GLAAD President Neil G. Giuliano. “Though the film’s impetus was the discrimination gay and lesbian couples face, it is ultimately about the triumph of spirit and how a community came together to do the right thing.”

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."

Thanks to this film, Laural Hester's life will continue to touch that of others for a long time. Congratulations to everyone involved with this wonderful project.