Limited Partnership (film)

Last updated
Limited Partnership
Limited Partnership poster.jpg
Film poster
Directed byThomas G. Miller
Written by
  • Thomas G. Miller
  • Kirk Marcolina
Produced by
  • Thomas G. Miller
  • Kirk Marcolina
Cinematography
  • Nancy Huffman
  • Leo Chiang
  • Shana Hagan
Edited by
  • Kirk Marcolina
  • Thomas G. Miller
  • Carl Pfirman
  • Monique Zavistovski
Music byAllyson Newman
Release date
  • June 14, 2014 (2014-06-14)(LAFF)
Running time
74 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Limited Partnership is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Thomas G. Miller. Through archival footage and modern interviews, it covers a 40-year marriage between two gay rights activists in the US. It premiered at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival and aired on Independent Lens , a PBS program, in June 2015.

Contents

Synopsis

Richard Adams, a Filipino-American, and Tony Sullivan, an Australian national, met in 1971 when Sullivan was in the United States on a tourist visa. After hearing about a county clerk in Boulder, Colorado, who was marrying same sex couples, the two were married in March 1975. However, the Immigration and Naturalization Service refused to recognize the marriage, and, in a rejection letter, used a homophobic slur. In the face of impending deportation, the couple sued the U.S. government. The resulting case, Adams v. Howerton , was decided against them. [1] After the couple lived abroad, Adams subsequently helped Sullivan return to the US illegally. [2]

Interviews

Production

Miller began documenting the couple in 2001. The documentary initially focused on four couples, but Miller found that Adams and Sullivan had the best story. Filming was sporadic during the Presidency of George W. Bush, as Miller surmised that gay rights legislation would be unlikely. Following later events that focused attention on same-sex marriage in the United States, such as California Proposition 8, Miller returned to filming. [1]

Release

Limited Partnership premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival on June 14, 2014. [3] The broadcast premiere was on Independent Lens on June 15, 2015. [4]

Reception

Stephen Farber of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "This potent doc retrieves a fascinating chapter in LGBT history." [5] Joanne Ostrow of The Denver Post called the film "both heartbreakingly sad and triumphant". [6] June Thomas of Slate wrote that the film is "a powerful corrective to the historical ignorance many of us exhibit". [7]

Related Research Articles

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A civil union is a legally recognized arrangement similar to marriage, created primarily as a means to provide recognition in law for same-sex couples. Civil unions grant some or all of the rights of marriage.

Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal sex. As of 2023, marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 34 countries that have a total population of about 1.35 billion people, with the most recent being Andorra.

A domestic partnership is a relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married. People in domestic partnerships receive legal benefits that guarantee right of survivorship, hospital visitation, and other rights.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Same-sex marriage in the United States</span> Marriage between members of the same gender within the United States of America

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Same-sex adoption is the adoption of children by same-sex couples. It may take the form of a joint adoption by the couple, or of the adoption by one partner of the other's biological child.

Same-sex marriage is legal in all parts of the United Kingdom. As marriage is a devolved legislative matter, different parts of the UK legalised at different times; it has been recognised and performed in England and Wales since March 2014, in Scotland since December 2014, and in Northern Ireland since January 2020. Civil partnerships, which offer most, but not all, of the rights and benefits of marriage, have been recognised since 2005.

Same-sex marriage in Luxembourg has been legal since 1 January 2015. A bill for the legalisation of same-sex marriages was enacted by the Chamber of Deputies on 18 June 2014 and signed into law by Grand Duke Henri on 4 July. Partnerships have also been available in Luxembourg since November 2004.

This article contains a timeline of significant events regarding same-sex marriage and legal recognition of same-sex couples worldwide. It begins with the history of same-sex unions during ancient times, which consisted of unions ranging from informal and temporary relationships to highly ritualized unions, and continues to modern-day state-recognized same-sex marriage. Events concerning same-sex marriages becoming legal in a country or in a country's state are listed in bold.

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<i>Adams v. Howerton</i>

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Richard Frank Adams was a Filipino-American gay rights activist. After his 1975 same-sex marriage was declared invalid for the purposes of granting his husband permanent residency, Adams filed the federal lawsuit Adams v. Howerton. This was the first lawsuit in America to seek recognition of a same-sex marriage by the federal government.

Same-sex marriage is legal in the following countries: Andorra, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom, the United States, and Uruguay. Same-sex marriage is recognized, but not performed in Israel. Furthermore, same-sex marriages performed in the Netherlands are recognized in Aruba, Curaçao and Sint Maarten.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Recognition of same-sex unions in Asia</span>

Debate has occurred throughout Asia over proposals to legalize same-sex marriage as well as civil unions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Timeline of LGBT history in the United States</span>

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References

  1. 1 2 Harris, Kyle (2014-07-25). "Tom Miller's Limited Partnership chronicles a forty-year same-sex marriage sealed in Colorado". Westword . Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  2. ↑ Barnes, Robert (2015-04-18). "40 years later, story of a same-sex marriage in Colo. remains remarkable". The Washington Post . Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  3. ↑ Gettell, Oliver (2014-04-23). "L.A. Film Fest: Free screenings to include 'Clueless,' 'La Bamba'". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  4. ↑ Neale, April (2015-05-12). "'Limited Partnership' Premieres on Independent Lens Monday, June 15, 2015 on PBS VIDEOS". Monsters and Critics . Archived from the original on 2016-03-29. Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  5. ↑ Farber, Stephen (2014-07-16). "'Limited Partnership': Outfest Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  6. ↑ Ostrow, Joanne (2015-06-12). "Ostrow: "Limited Partnership" film tracks gay marriage fight over 40 years". The Denver Post . Retrieved 2015-09-20.
  7. ↑ Thomas, June (2015-06-15). "A Heartbreaking History Lesson From the Struggle for Same-Sex Marriage". Slate . Retrieved 2015-09-20.
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