Filmmaker Anne Renton Fights Prop. 8 with 'Love is Love'

Like most of the gay and lesbian community, filmmaker Anne Renton is awash in emotions about passage of California Proposition 8 and the resulting ban of gay marriages.

“I am horrified to hear the amount of money that they spent on yes on 8,” she says. And like a lot of people, Renton is searching for things she can do to help fight the ban. “There is a petition going around for all California people to sign for a re-look at Prop 8... I sent it to everyone I know in California,” she says. But she wanted to do more... and that's when she thought about her short film, Love is Love.

Renton, made the film in mid-2006 to enter the Australian Sony Tropfest film festival. Tropfest films must be made specifically for the festival and can’t be longer than seven minutes… including the titles and credits.

“I wanted to tell a story that had gay and lesbian content but could also appeal to a mainstream audience,” she explains.

Although Love is Love didn't get into the festival, it is currently being picked up by Logo and has been screened at many international and US film festivals. In seven minutes the film tells a story that lends a new perspective to the Prop 8 fight.

Love is Love shows a mirror image of the world where gays are the majority and heterosexuals are subject to second class treatment. Actress Jane Lynch plays a preacher in the film who questions the rights of heterosexuals to have the same freedoms as gays and lesbians. Comedian Margaret Cho also makes a brief appearance in the film.

“I have been going to protests and I realize they create visibility which is very important but we do have significant supporters in California. So how do we reach the non-supporters? I was trying to think of other ways to get a message out there and maybe even create some dialogue with people who voted yes on 8. Maybe some would stop and think about it a bit more. The film is a comedic way to provide a window for a hetero person to see what it might be like to be in the minority.”

Renton has put the film on the Internet (www.loveisloveshortfilm.com) but with a few targeted additions. She added cards to the beginning of the film:

• This is dedicated to all who voted Yes on Prop 8

• Imagine how it would feel if you were the minority and other people voted on your rights

• There is an old proverb... Don't judge anyone until you've wanted a mile in their shoes” ...consider the possibility.

And at the end of the film, before the credits roll...

• Love is Love... we all deserve equal rights

“I had a guy friend watch it who's not gay and he said, ‘Wow... I never really thought that might be how someone would feel.’” It's that message that Renton hopes will help change minds -- and hearts.

“Maybe this will get out there and create enough buzz that some yes on 8 people will watch it and think again,” Renton says. “I know Prop 8 has affected people all around the country, especially people in our community who live in less liberal places and who had such great hopes for California.”

The Perfect Family, Renton’s new feature-length film that she plans to shoot in 2009, also addresses an issue that strikes at the heart of the LGBT community -- adoption. ”How painful to not allow gay people to adopt,” she says, referring to the recent legislation passed in Arkansas. “A piece of The Perfect Family story has a small community Catholic Church petitioning against LGBT people being allowed to adopt... so it feels very timely.”

To view the film, go to www.loveisloveshortfilm.com.