Institute History
Description
Election Day 2008: Californians passed Proposition 8, a measure that repealed the right of same-sex couples to marry. This documentary takes us behind the scenes of the high-profile trial that overturned the controversial constitutional amendment. The case first made headlines with the shocking alliance of lead attorneys Ted Olson and David Boies, political foes who last faced off on opposing sides in Bush v. Gore. The plaintiffs are two loving gay couples who find their families at the center of the same-sex marriage controversy.
Filmmakers Ben Cotner and Ryan White gain unparalleled access to the key players in the controversy and provide fly-on-the-wall coverage of a trial the public was never allowed to see. Shot over five years, this extraordinary film offers unprecedented insight into our justice system and the often mysterious process of taking a case to the Supreme Court. Chronicling one of the most significant civil rights battles in our nation’s existence, The Case Against 8 puts the viewer in the driver’s seat of history in the making.
Winner of the Directing Award: U.S. Documentary at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival