Marilyn Maneely, Diane Marini Documentary
Same-Sex Marriage Debate Focus of Award-Winning Film
Dec 19, 2008
This 2007 film follows gay rights activists and longtime partners Marilyn Maneely and Diane Marini as Maneely (who has since died) struggled in her race against time with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. Following her devastating diagnosis of a terminal disease, she and 14-year partner Marini sought to gain rights as a couple.
In Sickness and In Health
This timely, award-winning documentary examines same-sex marriage in post-election America. Its specific focus is on a female couple in which one of the partners is dying, while the other fights to get same-sex marriage legalized before Maneely succumbs to her disease.
In Sickness and In Health captures the individual heartbreak, the suffering of the couple’s five children, and the combined support of a community as they realize the limited rights of non-married couples concerning an individual’s right to care for a dying partner. Marini and Maneely, along with six other couples and the Lambda Legal Fund, filed a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey seeking the right to marry their life partners. When Maneely died, Marini was not allowed to sign the death certificate.
Screenings and Awards for the Film
In Sickness and In Health played the festival circuit recently (before its 2009 DVD release), winning a Jury Award for Best Documentary and Festival Favorite at Philadelphia International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, and receiving an Audience Award for Best Documentary at Southwest Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
Additional festival screenings include Through Women’s Eyes Film Festival, Reel Affirmations – DC Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Santa Fe Film Festival, Boston Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Reel Affirmations DC, Miami Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, New Fest: The New York LGBT Film Festival, Tampa International Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, Reel Identities LGBT Film Festival New Orleans, The Birkshire Women for Women Worldwide, and Austin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival.
In Sickness and In Health Documentary on DVD
- In Sickness and In Health
- Director: Pilar Prassas
- Run Time: 56 minutes
- Rating: Unrated
- Additional Information: Color Documentary, DVD 2007
Women Make Movies
In Sickness and In Health is distributed by Women Make Movies (WMM), the world’s leading distributor of independent films by and about women, focusing particularly on timely documentaries that explore important subjects regarding women. The Women Make Movies collection includes more than 500 films including 13 of George Foster Peabody Award-winning Kim Longinotto’s films (Rough Annuities) and the work of Gracie award-winning Ellen Spiro (Troop 1500: Girl Scouts Beyond Bars).
Watch a trailer for In Sickness and In Health. For more information about same-sex couples in the movies, read The Artistry of Aimee & Jaguar.
 |
