Reveal Productions

Presents

How the of is Changing the World

Directed by Macky Alston

83m

Publicity Contacts

John Murphy Darin Darakananda Murphy PR Murphy PR Office: (212) 414-0408 Office: (212) 625-1410 Cell: (646) 369-0317 Cell: (914) 584- 8033 [email protected] [email protected] For stills and clips, please visit: http://ge.tt/9fCDyGC?c For more information, please visit: http://www.lovefreeordiemovie.com/ LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 2

SYNOPSIS

Short

LOVE FREE OR DIE is about a man whose two defining passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. Gene Robinson is the first openly person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom. His consecration in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir, and he has lived with death threats every day since. LOVE FREE OR DIE follows Robinson from small-town churches in the New Hampshire North Country to Washington’s Lincoln Memorial to London’s Lambeth Palace, as he calls for all to stand for equality – inspiring , and ordinary folk to come out from the shadows and change history.

Long

LOVE FREE OR DIE is about a man whose two defining passions are in direct conflict: his love for God and for his partner Mark. Gene Robinson is the first openly gay person to become a bishop in the historic traditions of Christendom. His consecration in 2003, to which he wore a bullet-proof vest, caused an international stir, and he has lived with death threats every day since. The film follows Robinson's personal story as American churches debate whether or not lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people are equal to heterosexuals in the eyes of God while our nation debates whether LGBT people are equal to heterosexuals in the eyes of the law.

In LOVE FREE OR DIE, Bishop Gene steps onto the world stage as he travels from small-town churches to Washington's Lincoln Memorial to London's Lambeth Palace calling for all to stand for equality – inspiring bishops, priests and ordinary folk to come out from the shadows and change history.

Subjects from the film, including Bishop Gene Robinson will be in attendance at Sundance and available for interviews. LOVE FREE OR DIE reunites the filmmaking team of Macky Alston and Sandra Itkoff who collaborated on THE KILLER WITHIN. Alston also directed FAMILY NAME which premiered at Sundance and prior production credits for Itkoff include DEFAMATION, CADILLAC DESERT.

LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 3

Director’s Statement

I’ve been directing documentaries for almost twenty years, but this film feels like the one I was born to make. My father, grandfather and great-grandfather for whom I am named were all Christian clergy. When I came out to my dad twenty-five years ago in his church office, he said that the only way to be happy is to tell no one. I didn’t follow his advice – but tragically many who receive that kind of advice do. My dad has since changed his mind – why? Because he’s seen me flourish.

In LOVE FREE OR DIE, we see Bishop Gene Robinson and others flourish – even as they’re discriminated against. When the world sees them living and working in community in powerful loving ways, I believe people’s hearts will be moved and their minds will be changed. Just like in my family, when they know us, when they really see us, they’ll be less able to vote against us. The truth will set us – and by us, I mean all of us - free.

There is a scene in the film when a bishop is speaking with two gay dads and their ten year old son. The bishop, who is supportive of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality, tries to explain why their church refused their child baptism, just because the child’s parents were gay. As the three adults grasp for an adequate explanation, the child states simply, “It’s their fear.” One of the fathers, stunned by the child’s clarity, echoes, “That’s right. Its fear of what they don’t know.”

It is crazy to think a little child would know better than 2000 years of the world’s finest theologians and thinkers, but not so crazy. It is a new experience, being the child of gay parents. It is a new experience, being a gay bishop. It is a new experience, being in a same-sex marriage with two children we set out to adopt together. This generation of pioneers are the ones who will see and show once and for all whether LGBT people are corrupt, as 2000 years of moral teaching has posited, or good.

The heart-stopping moment for me in this film happened in England. From the pulpit of a renegade church that invites Bishop Robinson to preach against the wishes of the Archbishop, Gene says, “The opposite of love is not hate, but fear.” Minutes later, as if provoked by the truth, a burly man jumps up screaming "Repent!" and looks as if he might shoot. For 30 seconds or so, no one knows what is going to happen. The congregation starts clapping and then breaks into song to drown out the threatening man. The bishop is entirely vulnerable.

I remember standing in the balcony of the church with my cameraman with tears stinging my eyes, knowing that there was nothing I could do to protect my friend, the bishop. That was the moment on this project that I became aware of the cost of taking an historic stand. I recognized that Gene Robinson really might die for what he believed, that he had committed to doing so if he had to, and that it might very well happen on my watch.

Hats off, at the end of the day, to Bishop Robinson and the countless others who came before him, flank and follow him. We rarely apprehend just how much these people have put on the line in order for us to enjoy our freedom. It has been a privilege to try to bring that to light.

- Macky Alston LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 4

Biographies

Bishop Gene Robinson – Diocese of New Hampshire

V. Gene Robinson was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire on June 7, 2003, having served as to the Ordinary (Assistant to the Bishop) for nearly 18 years. He was consecrated a Bishop on All Saints Sunday, November 2, 2003, and was invested as the Ninth Bishop of New Hampshire on March 7, 2004.

A 1969 graduate of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tennessee, he has a B.A. in American Studies/History. In 1973, he completed the M.Div. degree at the General Theological Seminary in New York, was ordained , and then , serving as at Christ Church, Ridgewood, New Jersey. Much of his ministry has focused on helping congregations and clergy, especially in times of conflict, utilizing his skills in congregational dynamics, conflict resolution and mediation.

He holds two honorary doctorates and has received numerous awards from national civil rights organizations. His story is featured in the 2007 feature-length documentary, “For the Bible Tells Me So.” In 2008 Gene’s book “In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God” (Seabury Books, New York) was released.

Bishop Robinson has been active particularly in the area of full civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-gender people. Working at the state, national and international levels, he has spoken and lobbied for equal protection under the law and full civil marriage rights. He has been honored by many LGBT organizations for this work, including the Human Rights Campaign, the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force, Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund, GLAD, NH Civil Liberties Union, GLAAD, and the Equality Forum.

Bishop Robinson was invited by to give the invocation at the opening inaugural ceremonies at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009. The Bishop's next book, God Believes in Love: Straight Talk about Gay Marriage, will be published by Alfred Knopf in the fall of 2012.

He is the father of two grown daughters and the proud grandfather of two granddaughters. He lives with his husband, Mark Andrew, who is employed by the State of New Hampshire’s Department Health & Human Services.

The Most Reverend -

Rowan Douglas Williams was born in Swansea, south Wales in 1950. He was ordained a priest in 1978. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1989, and became a fellow of the British Academy in 1990.

In 1991 Professor Williams accepted election and consecration as bishop of Monmouth, a diocese on the Welsh borders, and in 1999 on the retirement of Archbishop he was elected , one of the 38 primates of the . Thus it was that, in July 2002, with eleven years' experience as a diocesan bishop and three as a leading primate in the Communion, Archbishop Williams was LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 5 confirmed on 2 December 2002 as the 104th bishop of the See of Canterbury: the first Welsh successor to St Augustine of Canterbury and the first since the mid-thirteenth century to be appointed from beyond the English Church.

As Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams’ principal responsibilities are pastoral – leading the life and witness of the in general and his own diocese in particular by his teaching and oversight, and promoting and guiding the communion of the world-wide Anglican Church by the globally recognized ministry of unity that attaches to the office of bishop of the see of Canterbury.

The Reverend Barbara Clementine Harris, D.S.T, retired – Suffragen Bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts

Bishop Harris was born on June 12,1930, in Philadelphia, Pa. She became a member of the Episcopal Church at a young age, and by 1968 was active at the Church of the Advocate on the north side of Philadelphia. In the 1960s, she was involved in church- related programs to register black voters in Mississippi, and in 1965 she participated in the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., that was led by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Before entering the ordained ministry, Harris had a career as a public relations executive for the Sun Oil Company. In the early 1970s, Harris, as senior warden for her church, agitated for the ordination of women, and by 1976, the church decided to admit women priests. In October of 1980, Harris was ordained and subsequently resigned from Sunoco.

She returned to her home parish first as deacon intern in 1979, eventually becoming the first woman ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion on February 11, 1989.

The Most Reverend – Archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America

Robert William Duncan Jr. was born July 5, 1948 in Bordentown, New Jersey. After graduating Cum Laude from Trinity College’s class of 1970, he enrolled at the General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church and was ordained a priest in 1973.

Elected bishop of the diocese of Pittsburgh, widely considered one of the most conservative in North America, Bishop Duncan vocally opposed Gene Robinson’s election as bishop of New Hampshire in 2003. Though the two were classmates in the seminary, Gene’s open homosexuality clashed with Robert’s conservative principles.

Unable to reconcile his beliefs with the direction of the Episcopal Church, Duncan led his diocese to split away and form the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh in 2009. The newly formed Anglican Church in North America named Duncan Archbishop and Primate of North America on June 21, 2009.

LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 6

The Right Reverend Otis Charles, DD, STD – Bishop of Utah, retired

Bishop Charles was born in April of 1926 in Norristown, Pennsylvania. In 1971, Charles was elected Bishop of Utah.

Since 1979 he has been among a growing number of bishops who have spoken out for full and complete inclusion of gay and lesbian people in the church without restriction, recognizing their calling to ministry and rejecting the notion that a baptized homosexual must live a celibate life. In 1980, he was the recipient of the national Integrity Award.

Upon his retirement in 1993, Charles publicly announced his homosexuality becoming the first openly gay bishop of any Christian denomination. Though retired, Bishop Charles’ bravery blazed a trail which preceded pronouncements from other active gay clergy including Gene Robinson and Mary Glasspool. Charles has continued as an active and voting member of the Episcopal House of Bishops taking many stands on behalf of his community. In 2004, he married his longtime partner, Felipe Sanchez Paris.

The Right Reverend Mary Glasspool - Suffragen Bishop of Los Angeles

Mary Douglas Glasspool was born on February 23, 1954 on Staten Island in New York. She enrolled in the Episcopal Divinity School and was ordained a priest in 1982.

She was elected eighth bishop suffragen of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on December 5, 2009, after having served nine years as canon to the bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. Bishop Glasspool is the first openly gay woman to be elected a bishop in the Episcopal Church.

The Right Reverend J. Jon Bruno – Diocesan Bishop of Los Angeles

Bishop Bruno was born November 17, 1946 in Los Angeles, California. A graduate of Cal State, Long Beach, he also holds a Master’s in Divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary. Before joining the clergy, Bishop Bruno worked briefly as both a law enforcement officer and a professional football player.

Ordained a priest in 1978, he rose to bishop of Los Angeles on February 1, 2002, becoming the first native Angelino to do so.

The Reverend – Founder and Senior Pastor, Saddleback Church

Famous for his many bestselling novels, most notably The Purpose Driven Life, Dr. Rick Warren is among America’s best known evangelicals and the founder of Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California.

LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 7

Dr. Warren was born in 1954 in San Jose, and holds a bachelor’s degree from California Baptist University, a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry from Fuller Theological Seminary.

His Saddleback Church has grown to become one of the largest evangelical congregations in the . In December of 2008, President-Elect Obama selected Dr. Warren to give the official televised invocation at his inauguration, angering pro-choice and LGBT advocates.

The Right Reverend Edward Stuart Little – Bishop of Northern Indiana

Bishop Little was born in on January 29, 1947, and attended schools in Manhattan and in Norwalk, Connecticut. He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Southern California in 1968, his Master of Divinity from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in 1971, and was ordained deacon and priest that year in the Diocese of Chicago. Following his consecration, Bishop Little was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree by Seabury-Western.

Bishop Little has a deep passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ. He is committed to the Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church. He is a wonderful preacher and is very pastoral. Bishop Little is also an accomplished writer. His two books “Ears to Hear” and “Joy in Disguise” are witty, scholarly and deeply moving.

He was elected seventh Bishop of Northern Indiana on November 5, 1999, and consecrated on March 18, 2000, in the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame. He was seated in the Cathedral of St. James, South Bend, on April 30, 2000.

The Reverend Eleanor McLaughlin and Elizabeth Hess

Reverend McLaughlin and “Betsy” Hess were married in Berlin, New Hampshire, in the first same-sex marriage presided over in that state by Bishop Gene Robison on January 6, 2010.

McLaughlin is the retired rector of St. Barnabas parish in Berlin, where Ms. Hess also maintains a private psychology practice. The two remain happily married.

LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 8

Filmmaker Bios

Macky Alston - Director

Macky Alston, documentary filmmaker, most recently directed Love Free or Die, a feature film about openly gay bishop Gene Robinson and the international firestorm his consecration sparked, which will premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Alston’s first film, Family Name premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997 where it won the Freedom of Expression Award and later aired on PBS’ POV. Since then he has directed Questioning Faith (premiered Full Frame & Hot Docs International Film Festivals, aired HBO/Cinemax 2002), The Killer Within (premiered Toronto International Film Festival 2006, aired Discovery Times 2007), and Hard Road Home (premiered South by Southwest 2007, aired PBS’ Independent Lens 2008).

Alston is a partner with Sandra Itkoff and Christopher White in Reveal Productions. His awards include the Gotham Open Palm Award and Emmy nominations for three of his films and he has appeared in press around the world, including The Oprah Winfrey Show, The Today Show, and The New York Times.

Sandra Itkoff - Producer

Sandra Itkoff is a producer of award-winning documentaries and children’s programming whose latest project, Love Free or Die, will have its premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. The film, a feature documentary directed by Macky Alston about openly gay Bishop Gene Robinson and the international firestorm sparked by his consecration, is scheduled to air on PBS in late 2012.

In 2009, her European Film Award-nominated documentary film Defamation, directed by Yoav Shamir, explored the complicated relationship between Jews and anti-Semitism and won critical acclaim worldwide. The same year, her film Off and Running, directed by Nicole Opper, aired on PBS. The documentary traced the coming of age of a young African America woman raised by a Jewish lesbian couple and was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Ms. Itkoff’s feature documentary film The Killer Within, also directed by Alston, premiered at the 2006 Toronto International Film Festival and aired on the Discovery Times network the following year.

Her 2004 film Ladies as Gentlemen: Drag Kings on Tour, a road documentary, premiered on the Discovery Channel and won Best Documentary/Audience Awards at Outfest Los Angeles, the San Francisco Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and the Toronto Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.

She was the executive producer of The Twentieth Century Project, a six-film series that aired on the Showtime network 2000. The project brought together directors Norman Jewison (Moonstruck, In the Heat of the Night), Barry Levinson (Diner, Rain Man), Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman), Gregory Nava (El Norte), Robert Townsend (Hollywood LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 9

Shuffle), and Robert Zemekis (Forrest Gump), to explore in documentary form topics they felt were representative of the 20th century.

Ms. Itkoff won the prestigious DuPont Columbia Award for her four-part PBS documentary series Cadillac Desert (1997), which focused on the epic political and environmental struggle for water in the modern American West.

In addition to her documentary work, Ms. Itkoff produced the animated children’s series Grossology: The Science of Really Gross Things for Nelvana and Discovery Kids.

Christopher White – Editor

Christopher White has been a documentary film editor since 1995. White has edited numerous award winning films, five in collaboration with director Macky Alston, including The Killer Within (as editor and co-director) which was nominated for a 2008 Best Documentary Emmy, and Hard Road Home, nominated for a Best Documentary Emmy in 2009.

His latest collaboration (as editor and co-producer) with Alston is Love Free or Die: How the Bishop of New Hampshire is Changing the World, which will premiere at the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. For Academy Award-nominated filmmaker Roger Weisberg, White has edited three feature length films for PBS: Aging Out, Waging A Living, and Critical Condition. For filmmaker Anne Buford and Academy Award-nominated producer Chiemi Karasawa, White was an editor on Elevate, which premiered at the 2011 SXSW Film Festival and won the Best Documentary Award at the 2011 Dallas International Film Festival.

White is a partner in Reveal Productions with Producer Sandy Itkoff and Director Macky Alston.

LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 10

Credits

Directed by MACKY ALSTON

Produced by SANDRA ITKOFF

Edited by CHRISTOPHER WHITE

Director of Photography TOM HURWITZ, ASC

Sound PETER J. MILLER

Composer PAUL BRILL

Co-Producer CHRISTOPHER WHITE

Associate Producer & Publicist JOHN MURPHY

Additional Camera AVI KASTORIANO

AXEL BAUMAN NINA DAVENPORT DAN DENSCH BRIAN DOWLEY JAY GILLESPIE KATHY HUANG SHAUN KADLEC JACOB OKADA

Additional Sound ALAN BARKER JAY MAURER MARK ROY JT TAKAGI BLAKE WINDHAM

Production Managers ANGELA MARTENEZ LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 11

JOY SMITH

Production Assistants JAY GILLESPIE SOPHIE GOGGINS HAL MOSKOWITZ ERIN REESE

Post Production

Post Production Supervisor JULIA MINTZ

Sound Editor MARY ELLEN PORTO

Dialogue Editor ESTHER REGELSON

Online Editor/Colorist JON FORDHAM

Online Facility FRAME:RUNNER, INC.

Title Design GIL NEVO

Graphics & End Credits VICTOR BARROSO

Researchers JUDITH ALEY ALLAN BALDWIN SOPHIE GOGGINS JOY SMITH

Digitizing Assistant RYAN BEICKERT

Edit Room Intern ERIN REESE

LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 12

Music Composed, Recorded & Produced by PAUL BRILL at Casa de Rico y Luca Studios, Brooklyn

Additional Recording by PAT DILLETT

Musicians Ukulele, French Horn, Acoustic & Electric ROB JOST Bass YAIR EVNINE Cello MATT RAY Piano BILL DOBROW Drums & Percussion KATIE SCHEELE Oboe & English Horn

Re-recording Mixer REILLY STEELE

Sound Mix Facility SOUND ONE

Legal Counsel KAREN SHATZKIN JAIME WOLF

Festival Coordinator DARIN DARAKANANDA / Murphy PR

Archival Media

The Anglican Church Anglican Church of North America Courtesy CNN The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,Comedy Central The Episcopal Church The Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire Gay Vicars, Princess Productions Glenn Beck,Fox News Channel Integrity USA LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 13

ITN Source ITN Source/Reuters Lambeth Press Gillian Laub NBC Universal Archives The Official Inaugural Celebration,HBO Religion and Ethics Newsweekly,PBS The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson Saddleback Church Thought Equity Motion/BBC Motion Gallery Thought Equity Motion/CBS News The Wall Street Journal WNYC Radio Some montages combine audio & video excerpts from various sources.

Major funding provided by the Ford Foundation.

Additional funding provided by

Independent Television Service (ITVS)

Mary Duke Biddle Foundation E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation The Fledgling Fund The Mark D. Hostetter & Alexander N. Habib Foundation Johnson Family Foundation

Andrew Alloy Charles W. & Maria Teresa Avery Bryan Bantry David Blum & Meg Krilov Bart Boehlert & Ted Dawson Daniel H. Bowers Sean C. Callahan Stephen Chinlund John E. Covington Fred A. Davie John E. Denaro in memory of Michael Burke Adam Edge Jessica Edwards LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 14

Michael B. Ekman Margaret Evans Blake Franklin Mardi Fritz Michael Gilligan & John Indalecio Linda Gottlieb & Robert Tessler Neil D. Greenberg & Frank Mullaney William A. & Jane Greenlaw Lulie Haddad Kenneth W. Hardt Peter Heady Marjorie J. Hill Wayne A. Hoffman Frederick Todd Johnson Richard M. Landman Ron & Paula Litow Thomas LoConti Richard F. Longinetti Alan Lunceford Jenna Mann Michael Marsman Suzanne Marvier Loring McAlpin Trevor McDonald & Kelly John Keenan Lisa Menisch-Lazarus Debra Morton Hal Moskowitz & John Murphy Timothy Palmer Warren C. Platt Diana L. Reed Susan Reed Patricia Russell Lucy Sexton Abby Shuman Stan Small Krishna Stone Douglas Stroup Jennie Talley Marie Wallace Roger J. Waltzman Jon Walton Douglas J. Warn LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 15

Patrick B. Wenning

This film was supported by a grant from The Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program.

Fiscal Sponsor Hartley Film Foundation

Special Thanks to

The people who agreed to be filmed & their families

Our families who supported us as we filmed

and to Claire Aguilar Orlando Bagwell Mike Barwell

Shannon Bell

Paula Bibber Kelly Brennan Louise Brooks, Harry Knox, Max Niedwicki, Susan Russell & Integrity USA Jeanine Caunt Samuel Chu & California Faith for Equality Leonard Cox Barbara Curry Sheila Greeve Davaney Mona Davis

Jonathan Diamond

Sandi DuBowski Chris Eyden & Joseph Hawes Beadie Finzi, Jess Search, & the GoodPitch Patricia Finneran, Cara Mertes, Rahdi Taylor & the Sundance Institute LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 16

Lewis Flinn Neva Rae Fox & Mike Collins Brad Fuller Eric Garcetti & Amy Wakeland

Nicholas Gottlieb

Sharon Groves, Harry Knox, Joe Solmonese & the Human Rights Campaign Matthew Hamachek Katharine Rhodes Henderson & the staff of Auburn Seminary Stephen Henderson & James LaForce Holy Apostles Episcopal Church, NYC Rick Jacobs & Shaun Kadlec Jeff Krehely, Sally Steenland, Jon Podesta & The Center for American Progress Wendy Levy & the Bay Area Video Coalition Ines Hoffman Kanna Lynn Kirby Philippa Kowarsky Sarah Masters & the Hartley Film Foundation Keli Meyer Sung Park & Believe Out Loud Leslie Pomerantz Kim Powers Radical Avid Susan Reed Rogue Post Keith Shapiro Abby Shuman Chris Souvlis Rebecca Voelkel and the Lois Vosson & Independent Lens Institute for Welcoming Resources/NGLTF Ari Wallach Juliet Weber Evan Wolfson, Marc Solomon & Freedom to Marry

Executive Producer for ITVS LOVE FREE OR DIE Page 17

Sally Jo Fifer

Love Free or Die is a co-production of Reveal Productions, Inc. & the Independent Television Service (ITVS), with funding provided by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

Love Free or Die is produced by Reveal Productions which is solely responsible for its content.

© 2012 Reveal Productions, all rights reserved.

www.lovefreeordiemovie.com #lovefreeordie