It's been exactly ONE YEAR since the Supreme Court decisions on Prop 8 and DOMA. We are feeling proud and excited and quite reflective when we think of all that's happened. 

In recognition of this, please watch our retrospective video BEYOND PROP 8, featuring SF City Attorney Dennis Herrera, NCLR Executive Director Kate Kendell, and ACLU Attorney Elizabeth Gill.   

Happy Pride!

  -- The Campaign Team

Dear Friends, HAPPY PRIDE MONTH 2014! We are thrilled to announce that THE CAMPAIGN documentary is receiving a 2nd wave of broadcasts across the country on PBS and public television as part of LBGT Pride month programming! Throughout this month, there are 800+ air-dates of our film, which will potentially touch over 60% of the nation. The timing for this is just perfect! Some 20 states have said "YES" to same-sex marriage since our film premiered last June, and it is also the 1-year anniversary of Supreme Court rulings that took down both Prop 8 and DOMA -- events that have changed the landscape of marriage equality like nothing that has come before. What follows is a helpful roadmap for viewers across the country to find, watch and enjoy our film. Please share these details with your national network: PBS WORLD CHANNEL - Starting June 11th, THE CAMPAIGN will air widely in many cities on the popular PBS World Channel. Share this link with friends & family everywhere -- bit.l/1iA6jB9 - so folks can find the film in their local market. The following is a partial list of air-times on the PBS WORLD Channel - Wed. June 11th - all times are local: • New York City - WLIW WORLD Channel - 8:00PM • Philadelphia - WHYY WORLD Channel - 8:00PM • Boston - WGBH WORLD Channel - 8:00PM • Jacksonville, FL - WJCT WORLD Channel - 8:00PM • Detroit - WTVS WORLD Channel - 8:00PM • New Orleans - WYES WORLD Channel - 7:00PM • Knoxville, TN - WETP WORLD Channel - 8:00PM • Birmingham, AL - WBIQ WORLD Channel - 7:00PM • Dallas - KERA WORLD Channel - 7:00PM • Salt Lake City - KUED WORLD Channel - 6:00PM CHECK YOUR LOCAL LISTINGS - The main message to our followers across the country is "check your local listings" to find local times across the broader PBS system. All of our air-dates are listed on our ITVS film page here. Folks can go to - http://itvs.org/films/campaign - and enter their local zip code to get specific information about their local station. CALL YOUR LOCAL PBS STATION TO REQUEST OUR FILM - As of 6/9/14, many PBS Stations have listed THE CAMPAIGN as a TBA: "To Be Announced" program for LGBT Pride Month. This means they may or may not schedule the film. We encourage viewers everywhere to call their local PBS station to tell them: 1) You'd like to check on the status of an air-date for THE CAMPAIGN, by Christie Herring, which you will help promote widely to your network on social media channels; 2) You represent a large and enthusiastic audience of public television viewers who eagerly await this important film that was funded by the Independent Television Service, and; 3) You appreciate your station's commitment to airing independent social issue documentaries, like THE CAMPAIGN, that are of interest to the LGBT community and its allies. HELPFUL DOWNLOAD: Click HERE for a complete list of cities where THE CAMPAIGN is currently a TBA program, so you can call your local PBS station to request our film today. If each of you shares the news of our 2nd wave of broadcasts with your network, we'll be able to connect with hundreds of thousands of people in the coming few days! Thank you so much for your continued support of our film.

  With much appreciation,

--

Christie Herring                   Marc Smolowitz

By Chris Riley, National Outreach Coordinator

What an amazing, inspiring, motivating weekend! 

We recently got back from Creating Change, The National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's annual National Conference on LGBT Equality.  It is the largest of its kind in the country. So inspiring to be with over 4,000 organizers, activists and leaders. This was my first time going to Creating Change, and I was blown away by the energy and excitement. 

Our time at Creating Change began Thursday evening with Mayor Anise Parker welcoming us to Houston - "This is what a lesbian mayor looks like" - followed by an awe-inspiring keynote speech by Laverne Cox - "Loving trans people is a revolutionary act."  

  On Friday, we hosted a workshop on Campaigns: Past and Present with The Task Force's own Director of the Leadership Academy, Sarah Reece!  

Activists participated in an interactive workshop learning about previous campaigns through dialogue and video clips. Participants were inspired by what they heard. One person said the workshop was "Very informative." Another, was inspired to take more action - "I look forward to doing more (activism), thanks to you!"

Later that day, we screened The Campaign to over 80 movie watchers and Samantha Ames, NCLR Staff Attorney, joined us for a rousing discussion about grassroots activism and the fight for marriage equality in the courts.

That evening, with The Task Force, we launched the Hannah Fund in memory of Hannah Johnson Leblanc, the No on 8 Campaign's Northern California Field Director, who died tragically in a car crash last May, weeks before her 30th birthday.  We raised over $4,500 to help fund future fellows and activists in the LGBTQ movement at The Task Force! 

None of this would have been possible without our hosts, the fabulous team at Resurrection MCC, Kristen Klein-Cechettini, Mark Eggelston, Darrin Brindle and Bridget Vinson (not pictured)  who hosted us and helped us every step of the way. 

We have made quite a few connections with activists and organizers around the country, and The Campaign will soon be screening in a town near you!  Please contact us if you want to help bring The Campaign to your city - [email protected]

What a year!  What an historic and simply stunning year for THE CAMPAIGN and for marriage equality!  The community of people behind the film leaves us feeling profoundly grateful as 2013 comes to a close.  We wanted to take a moment to reflect and say THANK YOU.  You have been with us every step of the way, and it feels GREAT to take a look back at some of our highlights: 

SPRING 2013:  We completed the film, thanks to your support and an incredibly talented team. One of the highlights of the finishing process was the opportunity to work with wildly talented composer Jacob Garchik and to record the film score with the creative force that is the Kronos Quartet and mixed by the wonderful folks at Women’s Audio Mission.  

JUNE:  We had an amazing world premiere at San Francisco’s Frameline Film Festival at the Castro Theatre, co-sponsored by the San Francisco Film Society and our major funder ITVS.  The lengthy standing ovation full of tears, cheers, and foot stomping was an incredible welcome to THE CAMPAIGN into the world. Several of the film’s stars were in attendance and joined Director/Producer Christie Herring, Producer Marc Smolowitz, Producer Brook Holston, and Editor Sari Gilman on stage for Q&A. The morning of the premiere, the San Francisco Chronicle ran a feature on the film, and the day ended with a big party which included many of you!  Two days after our film festival premiere, THE CAMPAIGN premiered on public television in Los Angeles, in a KCET special broadcast.

JUNE x2:  We could not have planned for better timing!  A mere three days after our big screening, in historic rulings, the US Supreme Court struck down both Prop 8 and DOMA.  A few days after that, same-sex marriages resumed in the place where it all began: San Francisco City Hall. We captured it all and rushed back to the edit room to update the now very happy ending.

JULY:  This was a month of festivals, online community events, and the expansion of our outreach and engagement partnerships. All of these are ongoing, and 2013 was the perfect kickoff.

THE CAMPAIGN then went on a whirlwind film festival tour from Denver to North Carolina to Atlanta to Houston to Tampa, with more to come.  And we had a few community screenings in between (Oakland, Seattle).

We were thrilled to use the new ITVS online screening platform OVEE to share THE CAMPAIGN with LGBT leaders and answer their questions live.  Later in 2013 we were invited to present our OVEE experience to the NETA public television conference.

  We established dynamic audience engagement partnerships with organizations across the country including: the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force; ACLU Northern California, Southern California, Washington, Pennsylvania, and Hawaii affiliates; Our Family Coalition; Georgia Equality; Equality Florida; Equality North Carolina; One Colorado, PFLAG Seattle, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Knoxville; Houston GLBT Political Caucus; and Pride Foundation.

FALL and WINTER 2013:  THE CAMPAIGN aired in 35 public television markets in 13 states across the country.  From Philadelphia to Knoxville, from Honolulu to Anchorage, from San Francisco to Kalamazoo and many places in between, audiences watched, were inspired by and responded to our film.  We hosted Google Hangouts in proximity to many of these broadcasts to connect viewers to THE CAMPAIGN and to local community organizations doing work on the ground in their areas.  We received great press attention during this broadcast rollout.  One of our favorites is from AfterEllen written by a childhood friend of the late Hannah Johnson.

LOOKING AHEAD:  THE CAMPAIGN is just getting started! Stay tuned for lots to come in 2014, including more community screenings with local partnerships, additional film festival screenings, university screenings, public television air dates in a city near you, a new website and much, much more!

Thank you for your support and Happy New Year to you! We look forward to 2014!

The Campaign Team

From our E-newsletter - August 23, 2013 - Sign up to stay in touch with news & announcements for THE CAMPAIGN: http://bit.ly/1dVCWcN

WHYY/Philadelphia | KQED/San Francisco | E. Tennessee Public TV | WGVU/Kalamazoo | Idaho Public TV

-- Broadcasts followed by #GoogleHangouts  | Talk-Back w/Filmmakers & Partners -- 

Dear Friends & Supporters:

It is with great pleasure that we announce our first major wave of national air dates across public television -- Sunday, August 25th, 2013 (see all events here) -- as well as 3 online community discussions on the same day via #GoogleHangout that give television viewers across the country an unique chance to pose post-film questions to THE CAMPAIGN producers and local partners ... see full details below!

| DESTINATION VIEWING | SET YOUR DVR |

On Sunday, 8/25/2013, THE CAMPAIGN will be seen by audiences on WHYY in Philadelphia (2:30pm EST), KQED in Northern California (6pm PST), East Tennessee Public TV (7pm EST), Idaho Public Television (9pm MST), and WGVU in Kalamazoo (1am EST, Aug. 26th.)

In advance of this weekend's air dates, coverage in the blog-a-sphere has been lively. Here's a sampling from 2 terrific write-ups that have appeared: OUTTAKE ONLINE - a prominent LGBT blog from award winning writer/journalist Charlotte Robinson & What (Not) To Doc - the popular documentary film blog from renown film curator Basil Tsiokos. 

Earlier this week, the film screened statewide on Colorado Public Television to enthusiastic response by local viewers (read this fantastic piece from Out Front Online.) The nation wide buzz about THE CAMPAIGN is definitely building, and as of this writing, the film is now slated for 61 air dates across 35 public television channels touching no less than 32 US markets in 12 states! 

For a complete listing of air dates through September 10th, bookmark our ONLINE CALENDAR, and share it with your friends & family around the country. We're updating it daily as new air dates are being confirmed. 

NEXT UP ... Honolulu | Portland/Eugene | Indianapolis | Los Angeles, and more ... for complete information on air dates in your local area, visit our ITVS film page. 

  | Online Community Discussions to Follow 8/25 Broadcasts | Join the Conversation via #GoogleHangout |

As part of our broadcasts on Aug. 25th, we're organizing 3 online #googlehangout events featuring Christie Herring, Director/Producer; Marc Smolowitz, Producer; and, key partners in local markets. These hangouts will begin immediately following broadcasts in Philadelphia, with PFLAG/Philly and Garden State Equality; in East Tennessee & Michigan, with PFLAG / Knoxville and Kalamazoo Gay & Lesbian Resource Center; and, San Francisco, with Our Family Coalition, ACLU-SoCal, and PFLAG / Bay Area.

                                                                                              Questions to the panelists on each #googlehangout can be posted via Twitter using hashtag - #CampaignDoc - and via The Campaign Documentary Facbeook Page.

On the heels of a successful screening at the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival,  Director/Producer Christie Herring is off to Seattle's SIFF Film Center for a special  community screening and  discussion tomorrow night -- Thursday, August 15th 7:30pm at SIFF Film Center.  Our amazing outreach and engagement partner Aggregate is sponsoring the screening. 

An ITVS funded documentary, this special screening of The Campaign is in advance of our national rollout across public television.   Our first airdate is Sunday, August 18th on KCTS/Seattle at 11pm.  The Seattle Times write-up highlights the importance and timeliness of The Campaign broadcast.  Please see our calendar for broadcast days and times in your area.

  As part of the unprecedented marriage equality wave last November, Washingtonians passed Ref 74, allowing same-sex couples to legally marry.  And with the historic Supreme Court decision striking down a portion of DOMA, the Seattle screening of The Campaign could not be more timely.

Joining Christie in a topical dialogue about what's next for Washington are our community partners -- ACLU WA, Jody Waits from  Pride Foundation, Barbara Clark-Elliott from PFLAG Seattle and Laurie Cogan from PFLAG Bellevue.   Each of these community partners played an integral role in the passage of Ref 74 and achieving marriage equality for Washington.   

Tomorrow night's screening and panel will give Christie and The Campaign an opportunity to discuss with Seattle's community what happens next after marriage.  We look forward to the dialogue.  

OFFICIAL SELECTION 2013, Q-FEST

- Sunday, July 28th at 3pm -

Co-Presented by The Houston GLBT Political Caucus

Tickets: http://bit.ly/tc_QFest

Director/Producer Christie Herring and Producer Marc Smolowitz are jet-setting off to Houston later this week for The Campaign’s southern premiere at Q-Fest. This is our first screening before a southern audience and is quite timely for Houston viewers.

Texas passed a law similar to Proposition 8 in 2005, which passed by 76% to 24%. Houston is the largest US city without a domestic partnership registry.  And with local marriage equality advocates recently introducing a bill to allow same-sex marriage in the state legislature, the screening of The Campaign could not be more topical.

Co-presenting the film is The Houston GLBT Political Caucus.   The Houston GLBT Political Caucus is the South’s oldest civil rights organization dedicated solely to the advancement of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights. The Caucus is nonpartisan and endorses candidates on the basis of their support for GLBT rights, regardless of political affiliation.

Joining Christie and Marc during the Q&A following the film will be Amy L. Stone, assistant professor of sociology at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.

Amy is the author of Gay Rights at the Ballot Box (Minnesota 2012), the first comprehensive history of the LGBT movement’s fight against anti-gay ballot measures from the earlier ballot measure in Boulder in 1974 to California Proposition 8 and Maine Question 1.  Amy will offer thoughtful commentary on the similarities and differences between California and Texas and possibilities for marriage equality in Texas.

            During the time of Q-Fest, a panel discussion featuring Christie and Marc at the Houston Public Library on Saturday, July 27 at 2pm. The topic will be From Lawrence v Texas to Prop 8 and DOMA, Where are we now? 

Joining Christie and Marc on the panel will be Mitchell Katine, who served as local counsel in the landmark Lawrence v Texas, which struck down Texas’ sodomy laws.  Also on the panel will be Dale Carpenter, a Lambda Literary Award author of Flagrant Conduct about the Lawrence case, and Debra Hunt, LGBT family rights attorney rounds out the panel.

Saturday promises to be a lively discussion about Lawrence, Prop 8, DOMA and what’s on the horizon for the LGBT community and marriage equality in Texas.

Let me take a moment to introduce myself --  my name is Chris Riley -- I have been an organizer in the LGBT movement for over 20 years and am the Outreach and Engagement consultant for THE CAMPAIGN. I strongly believe documentary film is a creative, unique way to inspire and engage folks and bring people into the movement.  

This past week, I served as a moderator on an incredibly new, cutting edge piece of technology -- OVEE -- ITVS' new social screening platform for watching PBS and local television programs together, from anywhere.  KQED, San Francisco's public television station, and WDET, Detroit's public radio station, sponsored Tuesday's viewing.

                           We invited leaders and journalists in the LGBT movement for a Tastemasters viewing of THE CAMPAIGN.  Truly an innovative and engaging experience, I was inspired to see movement leaders (including Out & Equal, Equality Ohio as well as others) online from all over the country watching, expressing emotions (through emoticons), asking questions and giving feedback.  

The whole experience was very interactive and offered a personal aspect as Christie Herring (Director/Producer) and Marc Smolowitz (Producer) were able to introduce the film by webcam and provide live commentary in the chat box.  

Emily Bazelon, Senior Editor of Slate Magazine; Senior Fellow at Yale Law School and host of SLATE’s popular podcast THE POLITICAL GABFEST, provided analysis specific to the US Supreme Court DOMA decision throughout the film via the chatbox.  Emily also talked about a variety of strategies to achieve marriage equality for states that ban marriage for same-sex couples.  

The viewers (and myself) found the platform easy to navigate, enjoyed the live chat and thought the whole experience was moving, inspiring, innovative and informative.  Participants can share via Facebook or Twitter while watching to invite their friends! One of the informative tools OVEE offers is metrics from the viewing. After the screening we can see how many people participated (75), shared with their friends via Facebook and Twitter (28), and how many times emotions were expressed by emoticons (260), along with a whole host of additional information. 

OVEE now gives us a new way to engage people we may not be able to reach and offer them a way to see THE CAMPAIGN, hear from movement strategists, and find out how they can get involved. Stay tuned as we hope to use OVEE again as part of our national rollout of THE CAMPAIGN.

Wow -- what a night last night was! The New Parkway is a wonderful venue! The theatre is filled with couches, lounge chairs and there is even an orange wrap-around booth.  

The audience had a great time and asked questions ranging from 'what inspired you to volunteer/work on the campaign' to 'what's next for the film and the movement'.  

A big thank you to Tessa and ACLU Northern California for sponsoring last night's event!  ACLU and other key litigators successfully represented Edie Windsor in the DOMA case. We look forward to partnering with local ACLU chapters across the country as we launch our national outreach and engagement plan.

OFFICIAL SELECTION, 2013 CINEMA Q FILM FESTIVAL

-- Friday, July 19th at 5pm -- 

Presented by Denver Film Society

Sponsored by One Colorado 

Tickets: http://bit.ly/tc_QFestDenver

Fresh on the heels of a successful event in Oakland last night with ACLU-Northern California, Director/Producer Christie Herring is on her way to Colorado for the Denver area premiere of The Campaign, screening tomorrow night at the Cinema Q Film Festival. This is our first public screening outside of California - a great chance to put The Campaign in front of new audiences, partners, and supporters.

One Colorado is sponsoring our screening and a panel after the film. Joining Christie for the discussion will be communications expert Maria De Cambra and Interfaith Alliance Executive Director Jeremy Shaver. Both Maria and Jeremy are veterans of the campaign to pass Referendum 1 -- rejected by voters in 2006 -- a measure to provide basic legal rights to domestic partners in Colorado.  

The screening and panel will offer a thoughtful chance for Christie and The Campaign to be a part of local conversations in Denver about the path moving forward in Colorado for marriage equality. We look forward to building on this opportunity.

From our E-newsletter - July 8, 2013 - Sign up to stay in touch with news & announcements for THE CAMPAIGN: http://bit.ly/12DusT4

“THE CAMPAIGN promises to be the best film yet on this American civil rights landmark.” - Jenni Olson, Queerty

All we can say is "WOW!" What an amazing few weeks in every way for THE CAMPAIGN, for California, and for same-sex marriage across our country. It saw our incredible premiere in San Francisco, the reversal of Proposition 8 and much of DOMA, the resumption of marriages in California, and some time back in the edit room for a very happy update to the ending of THE CAMPAIGN. We were there for it all. Here's a first person recap of these wonderful events from Producer/Director Christie Herring:

- June 23rd: At 1:00PM PST, after five years of work, nearly to the day, THE CAMPAIGN had its official world premiere at the Castro Theatre as part of Frameline37 (photo album.) For me, it was an absolutely thrilling moment. The film received an extended and emotional standing ovation from a cheering crowd (View on Instagram), followed by a sprited after-party at Pottery Barn (photo album). Many of the folks in the film, who worked on the film, who supported the film were there – many of you – were there! It made for a beautiful day and a fitting celebration of the film and the community that surrounds it. Our moment did not go unnoticed! A comprehensive feature in the San Francisco Chronicle and a national appearance on Current TV's "The War Room" (Watch now) were among several incredible press hits that covered the world premiere of the film. In the days leading up to Frameline37, the National LGBT Task Force and ACLU-Northern California both stepped up as official community partners of the film's outreach & engagement efforts. We are excited to tell you more about these partnerships in future updates.   - June 25th: At 9:00PM PST, THE CAMPAIGN had its world television premiere on KCET, the largest public television station serving greater Southern California -- reaching into over 6.5M households. Immediately following the broadcast, Producer Marc Smolowitz and I appeared with KCET executive Bohdan Zachary on a Google Hangout (Watch now) to discuss the movie, Prop 8, and the state-of-the-state of same-sex marriage. With back-to-back premieres in San Francisco and Los Angeles, we were able to connect THE CAMPAIGN with audiences and media across California, resulting in an incredible state-wide buzz as seen here in this fantastic piece by LA-writer Karen Ocamb.   - June 26th: At 6:00AM PST, I went back to San Francisco City Hall, where it all began, to await news from the Supreme Court, surrounded by hundreds of now very familiar faces. By 7:30AM PST, the Supreme Court of the United States struck down DOMA and threw Prop 8 out, effectively making same-sex marriage legal again in California. The room was electric when the announcement was made and when dozens of community advocates walked down the stairs in the rotunda. DAY OF DECISION celebrations erupted across the state and country, and I kept filming, intending to update the film with this very happy ending to the Prop 8 story.   - June 28th: In a surprise turn of events, by mid-day, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals lifted the stay on same-sex marriages in California, and weddings began at San Francisco City Hall immediately. On Friday alone, hundreds of same-sex couples were wed just in time for Pride Weekend! When I heard the news, I left the edit room, picked up my camera, and rushed to City Hall once again for what I knew had to be the final shot of the film – the joy of couples getting married with the legal backing of their state and their country. It was a sweet, tearful, and inspiring day. - June 29/30 / July 1/2: I took the footage and returned to the edit room to update the ending of THE CAMPAIGN, reflecting the new joyous reality for Prop 8, DOMA and same-sex marriage. As of this writing, the film has been delivered to PBS, and a national roll-out across public television stations begins in Seattle on August 18th.   In recent weeks, we've been working around the clock to finish THE CAMPAIGN, and the results speak for themselves. We now have THE NATIONAL MOVIE on one of THE MOST IMPORTANT TOPICS of our times -- same-sex marriage, at the very moment when audiences need to see it most. The type of cultural shift we’ve seen around same-sex marriage brings with it the need for education, conversation, and engagement. Our community screenings and education plans, in partnership with the ACLU of Northern California and the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force will provide just that opportunity. Next month, we begin airing on PBS across the country ... city by city, market by market.   

We are incredibly grateful to have such a vibrant community surrounding the production and release of this film. And stay tuned … THE CAMPAIGN is on its way to a theater or public television station near you!   With gratitude, -- THE CAMPAIGN DOCUMENTARY TEAM Christie Herring - Marc Smolowitz - Brook Holston - Chris Riley