The Dennos Museum Center at Northwestern Michigan College and WCMU present Community Cinema on May 14, 2015, at 7:00 p.m., FREE of charge. The program features a documentary film followed by discussion with community leaders and scholars. Visit http://www.dennosmuseum.org/events/community-cinema.html for the full schedule.
Limited Partnership
Limited Partnership chronicles the 40-year love story between Filipino-American Richard Adams and his Australian husband, Tony Sullivan. In 1975, thanks to a courageous county clerk in Boulder, Colorado, Richard and Tony were one of the first same sex couples to be legally married in the world. Richard immediately filed for a green card for Tony based on their marriage. But unlike most heterosexual married couples who easily obtain legal status for their spouses, Richard received a denial letter from the Immigration and Naturalization Service stating, “You have failed to establish that a bona fide marital relationship can exist between two faggots.” Outraged at the tone, tenor, and politics of the letter, and to prevent Tony’s impending deportation, the couple decided to sue the U.S. government, initiating the first federal lawsuit seeking equal treatment for a same sex marriage in U.S. history. A film by Thomas G. Miller, Limited Partnership premieres on Independent Lens Monday, June 15, 2015, 10:00-11:00 PM (check local listings) on PBS.
During a lifetime filled with health issues, money woes, and legal challenges, Richard and Tony never wavered in their love, lost their senses of humor, or gave up their quest for justice. Their personal trajectory parallels the history of the LGBT marriage and immigration equality movements, from their 1971 meeting at an L.A. gay bar called “The Closet,” to the 1975 signing of their marriage license in Colorado, through the era of AIDS, to the historic U.S. Supreme Court rulings on gay marriage in June 2013.
A poignant love story, Limited Partnership celebrates Richard and Tony’s long path as they redefined traditional concepts of “spouse” and “family.”
About Community Cinema
Community Cinema is an outreach project of CMU Public Television and the Dennos Museum Center. Screening events are part of the ITVS (Independent Television Service) Community Cinema program. For more on the Independent Cinema series, including upcoming dates and films, visit WCMU.org/TV.
Films are screened with captions. Milliken Auditorium now features a T-coil hearing loop for those with hearing impairments. Additional arrangements for a sign language interpreter can be made by contacting Linda Dielman at dielm1lk@cmich.edu or (989)774-3562.
Interested in being a panel member for discussion? Contact Jason Dake, Curator of Education, at jdake@nmc.edu.
The Dennos Museum Center is open daily 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursdays until 8 PM, and Sundays 1-5 PM. For information on the Museum and its programs, go to www.dennosmuseum.org or call 231-995-1055. The Dennos Museum Center is located at 1410 College Dr., Traverse City, MI 49686, at the entrance to the campus of Northwestern Michigan College.