Dear Ms. Hudson,
As independent gay filmmakers with a history of involvement in both LAFF and FIND, we wanted to share with you our thoughts about Rich Raddon's contribution to YES ON 8.
Two years ago, when we were debating where to have the L.A. premiere of our film Quinceañera, friends at Outfest asked us to be opening night. We ultimately declined in order to become an LAFF centerpiece.
How do you think we feel about that decision now that Rich Raddon's politics are on the table?
When Film Independent approached us to be mentors to a gay filmmaker, Nick Oceano, we agreed. This year, we even managed to produce a movie for MTV that Oceano directed. It tells the story of Pedro Zamora - an AIDS activist who in 1994 wed another HIV positive man on national television.
How do you think we feel now about having done this under the banner of FIND?
For a long time homophobia has been seen as a second-tier discrimination. But times have changed. If you'd witnessed any of the NO ON 8 marches that have spontaneously erupted around the country, you would see tens of thousands of people who have lived their lives with the bravery and determination to defy religious bigotry, and are not going to be slammed down any more. It really comes down to one word: EQUALITY.
The argument that Rich's was a religious decision is not acceptable to us. America was founded on the freedom of religion and the separation of Church and State. Believe what you want, but don't force it down anyone else's throats. The NO ON 8 argument came down to a simple decision: do you think gay couples are worthy of equal treatment under the law of California? This is a matter of CIVIL marriage; it is a CIVIL rights issue.
Undoubtedly, you are in a difficult position, having become attached personally to Rich and feeling, as Bill Condon said recently in the L.A. Times, that his decision was a religious and not a political one. Yet Rich's gesture - which had everything to do with politics and nothing to do with religion - has put us and filmmakers like us in an untenable position. Honestly, we would like to be able to support FIND and LAFF in the future, but we don't see how we can do that and still respect ourselves. And we suspect that many other LGBT and progressive filmmakers will feel the same way.
Yours,
Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland