News :: GLBT
Getting the word OUT by Scott Kearnan
Arts EditorWednesday Feb 13, 2008 Gay rights proponents are a dime a dozen but few put their money where their mouth is.
Charlotte Robinson, CEO of OUTTAKE Media, however, is giving the fight for gay marriage more than just lip service. The Boston native and producer/director of OUTTAKE, a documentary on the struggle for marriage equality in Massachusetts, has funded her ambitious project entirely out of her own pocket.
Together with Marilyn Rosen, her co-producer and fiancée, Robinson has invested more than sweat equity in the outcome of her work. "I always say to her," Robinson says with a laugh, ’Hey Marilyn, you know that retirement fund we used to have?’"
But documenting the equal marriage battle was worth any price.
"Something needed to be done to educate and diffuse the controversy," says Robinson. "I couldn’t help but get involved with a story like this, one that was happening in my own backyard.
Boston may be her backyard, but it wasn’t always her favorite playground: "When I was a kid, I would drive up to New York [from Boston]," says Robinson. "The closer I got to Greenwich Village, the more I suddenly felt like I was able to be myself."
"It’s funny," she laughs. "Now, it’s the opposite: the closer I get to Boston, the more I feel like I can be myself."
That newfound appreciation for the Bay State comes in large part from its role at the forefront of the gay rights movement. OUTTAKE, follows the long, frustrating, and ultimately joyous tale of the fight for marriage equality in Massachusetts.
"We have such a high level of equality in Massachusetts," says Robinson. But she cautions against resting on laurels until couples everywhere are entitled to the same basic civil rights. "Where else can you go [for these rights]?" she asks.
Indeed, nearly four years after the first wedding bells tolled on May 17, 2004, Massachusetts remains the only state in America affording equal marriage for same-sex couples. Progress in other states has been limited to enactments of civil unions (Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, New Jersey) or some form of domestic partnerships (California, Hawaii, Maine, Oregon, Washington).
Robinson, an Emmy Award-winning producer/director who has worked with WGBH, CBS and ABC News, believes that the OUTTAKE, story of marital bliss is the perfect vehicle to continue inspiring nationwide acceptance.
Back in 2003, when Goodridge v. Department of Public Health turned all eyes on the gay marriage debate in Massachusetts, Robinson turned her camera lens on the furor that followed. From tense rallies outside the State House to merry celebrations on the eve of legalization, Robinson captured it all. She distilled hours of footage into a nine-minute short film narrated by Arline Isaacson, co-chair of the Massachusetts Gay & Lesbian Political Caucus.
Currently hosted on OUTTAKEonline (www.outtakeonline.com), the short does function as a self-sustaining film and has already achieved recognition through the local festival circuit. But it’s mainly designed to whet investors’ appetites for a feature-length follow-up.
"I thought people would jump on board faster than they have," says Robinson of the quest for funding. She spends about four hours per day emailing potential backers, press contacts and media pundits ("including every Christian website," she laughs), but has yet to see the financial floodgates open wide. "We have more interest overseas than in this country," says Robinson.
Perhaps, in part, because hers is not the first documentary to explore the triumph and tragedy of the gay marriage fight in recent years: The Gay Marriage Thing, I Can’t Marry You, Freedom to Marry: Journey to Justice, Saving Marriage and Same-Sex America have already been greeted with varying degrees of acclaim and success.
But Robinson is taking a different approach with OUTTAKE,, aiming to differentiate it from other films that she says "rant and rave," and favor pathos over practicality.
For starters, she’s actively courting the opposition. "I want to get beyond preaching to the choir," says Robinson. She believes in crossing the political aisle, and presents OUTTAKE, as an invitation to conversation with liberal and conservative voices alike.
Most recently, Robinson did an interview with Tom Fredriksen, host of The Pipe Line Radio Hour on Old Glory Radio, a conservative internet radio station. She admits to being surprised when she was invited to be on the show. "I kept thinking, ’Am I going to get ambushed on the air?’" she laughs. "But I figured, worst case scenario, I can always hang up the phone."
She needn’t have worried. "I got a really good vibe from him," Robinson says of Fredriksen. "He turned out to be a doll."
The interview, which has since been posted and re-posted on various right-wing blogs, took a form that is all-too-rare between advocates and opponents of LGBT rights: civil, respectful, and reasoned, one that avoided demonizing either side of the issue and focused on finding common ground.
Less civil was the fallout Fredriksen received from some of his conservative listeners.
"Dear Tom," read Fredriksen from a listener letter in a follow-up broadcast. "I can’t believe you wasted your time with that woman [Robinson]. These are evil people who want to destroy America. When you give them air time, you’re only helping them."
Fredriksen, however, maintained his position that the discourse with Robinson was important, valued, and necessary to find common political ground.
Robinson has received support for her film from the Maryland Black Family Alliance, a coalition of leaders hoping to bridge a perceived rift between the African-American and LGBT communities. The Alliance will work with Robinson to implement a spring speaking engagement that will hopefully garner support for gay marriage and more financial backing for OUTTAKE,.
Though buoyed by the success of the OUTTAKEonline website and its daily blog of marriage news (the site receives between 2,000 and 3,000 daily hits), Robinson says she is "shocked" that the feature-length plans have not received more financial support from the LGBT community.
"I would really like to see some partners come in on this," says Robinson. "We have our pulse on what’s going on, and with partners there’s no stopping us."
To view the OUTTAKE short film and learn more about opportunities for support, visit www.OUTTAKEonline.com
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