In 1984, Debra Chasnoff made her first documentary film, Choosing Children, which profiled several lesbian moms who had kids after coming out—a radical idea at the time. The film, co-directed and co-produced with Kim Klausner, her children’s other mom, was selected in 2007 as one of two films that the Legacy Project, a program of OUTFEST, will be restoring this year.
Via the blog of Chasnoff’s GroundSpark organization comes news of a fundraiser to help the Legacy Project with this effort. If you’re in the San Francisco area this Sunday, consider dropping by. You can also make a donation online to help preserve and share a part of our history.
GroundSpark itself produces award-winning films and educational materials that tackle such issues as family structure, bullying, and gender identity and expression. (Chasnoff won an Academy Award for Best Short Documentary in 1991 on a different topic, however. Her Deadly Deception looks at the disastrous health and environmental side effects caused by General Electric’s production of nuclear materials.) I wrote about the release of Chasnoff’s It’s STILL Elementary some time back; I’ll have more on her brand-new release, Straightlaced, shortly. Stay tuned.
(Photo credit: GroundSpark)
Leave it to you, over in Boston, to tell me, over in the SF Bay Area, about a local event! Am currently in negotiations about childcare and date night funds to try to get one or both of us there. Thanks!