Sun, April 12th 9:15PM @ Regal Winter Park Village and Thu, April 16th @ Regal Winter Park Village. More information at www.FloridaFilm Festival.com
One of the great signs of spring here in Central Florida is the Florida Film Festival. This celebration and competition of all things film is recognized by the Academy Award committees, garnering its winners consideration for Oscars. It’s also often full of LGBT content. You’ll get to meet new filmmakers and other film afficianadoes. The conversations waiting for the lights to go down or in line at concessions (or at Enzian Theater’s Eden Bar) are half the fun. Limited Partnership is one of the festival’s offerings. It’s only shown twice, though, so make sure you make it.
Limited Partnership reminds us that the battle over LGBT rights and religion’s right to discriminate based on sexual orientation is a long one.
It’s hard to believe that 40 years ago, a county clerk in Colorado started issuing marriage licenses, yet we’re still arguing about gay marriage and the supposed damage it causes to moral fiber. Stories like that of Richard Adams and Tony Sullivan are lost to history without documentaries like this one – an obvious labor of love – to remind us.
Adams was born in the Philippines but became a United States citizen at the age of 21, living in California. Sullivan was an Australian citizen hoping to stay in the US with his partner. After hearing about county clerk Clela Rorex issuing licenses, they went to Bolder, Colorado, and she married them. Adams and Sullivan then started a long, painful fight to be recognized by Immigration and Naturalizations Services (INS) and the United States government.
In fact the first letter from INS stated that Adams and Sullivan “have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots.”
To say that their ensuing legal and personal battles were protracted would be a massive understatement. They faced unsympathetic courts, homophobia, and outright hostility. Their relationship was continuously dismissed, and they were constantly looking for new loopholes to explore.
Adams and Sullivan both say they never wanted to be in the spotlight. However, they almost always were, and often at their own doing. Not only did they seek ACLU and other legal help, they never shied away from discussing their case in public. Harvey Milk often used them as public examples of discrimination, and the couple went on Phil Donohue’s show to suffer barbs from a hostile audience, all to argue their case.
The stress on their relationship is amazing to consider, especially as their battle goes on for decades. We see them and their partnership age.
This documentary – directed by Thomas G. Miller – uses years of interview and footage, covering every minute detail and permutation of Adams’ and Sullivan’s story, including all the legal wrangling. The only way to keep so much detail is to go in chronological order. Yet, Miller’s documentary is most effective when it shows the daily lives of the couple, their smaller wars, and their commonplace partnership.
At some point, Adams and Sullivan will just be interesting footnotes to history. In fact, many young LGBT people may not even know them. However, their 40+-year struggle should be required knowledge for anyone in the community, and any of our families and allies. These are our legends, our heroes.
You must be logged in to post a comment.