Academy Contemporary Docs Series Explores Challenges of the Gay and Lesbian Community

Beverly Hills, CA — “Freeheld” and “For the Bible Tells Me So” will screen as part of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ “Contemporary Documentaries” series on Wednesday, October 15, at 7 p.m. at the Linwood Dunn Theater in Hollywood. Admission is free.

Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester spent 25 years investigating tough cases in Ocean County, New Jersey, protecting the rights of victims and putting her life on the line. But in the last year of her life, her final battle for justice was for the woman she loved. “Freeheld” chronicles Hester’s struggle to transfer her earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree, as terminal cancer spreads to her brain. Directed by Cynthia Wade and produced by Wade, Vanessa Roth and Matthew Syrett, “Freeheld” won the 2007 Academy Award® for Documentary Short Subject.

Through the experiences of five Christian families, “For the Bible Tells Me So” explores how people of faith handle the reality of having a gay child. The families’ efforts to reconcile homosexuality and Biblical scripture offer hope for those caught between the two. Producer-director Daniel Karslake will be present and take questions from the audience following the screening.

Part One of the 27th annual Contemporary Documentaries series continues through December 3, showcasing feature-length and short documentaries drawn from the 2007 Academy Award® nominations, including the winners, as well as other important and innovative films considered by the Academy that year. Part Two unspools from March through June of 2009.

All films, with the exception of those scheduled for December 3, will screen at the Linwood Dunn Theater at the Academy’s Pickford Center for Motion Picture Study on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. All seating is unreserved.

The Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. Free parking is available through the entrance on Homewood Avenue (one block north of Fountain Avenue). For additional information, visit www.oscars.org or call (310) 247-3600.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is the world’s preeminent movie-related organization, with a membership of more than 6,000 of the most accomplished men and women working in cinema. In addition to the annual Academy Awards – in which the members vote to select the nominees and winners – the Academy presents a diverse year-round slate of public programs, exhibitions and events; provides financial support to a wide range of other movie-related organizations and endeavors; acts as a neutral advocate in the advancement of motion picture technology; and, through its Margaret Herrick Library and Academy Film Archive, collects, preserves, restores and provides access to movies and items related to their history. Through these and other activities the Academy serves students, historians, the entertainment industry and people everywhere who love movies.