Screens Sunday, May 1, at 12:00 p.m.

Gay & Lesbian Times: Tell me a little about your background, and how you got involved in working on the issue of same-sex marriage?

Carmen Goodyear: Well, Laurie and I have been doing video for three or four years, pretty much learning and doing things for ourselves. We did a promotional video for a rug maker and then we started doing wedding videos. We did one for a young straight couple, and then we did one for a lesbian couple who were having a commitment ceremony and had been together 20 years. We started editing it, and just thought to ourselves that this is so unfair that these women can’t have a wedding. We kept asking ourselves, what is this issue with gay marriage? So we started following it. We did one interview with a couple about the loss of benefits that gay couples suffer, and then everything started happening in San Francisco. Laurie and I went to City Hall in San Francisco on the second day and got married, and that marked the beginning of the film – what happened in San Francisco that day, and the next day at the rally that took place in Sacramento. From that we move into interviewing seven long-term same-sex couples who have, for one reason or another, really felt the injustice about not being able to be married.

GLT: Why is it important for people to see this film?

LY: Looking back on history, [the GLBT civil rights movement] may be the first worldwide civil rights movement. I don’t think we know or see how important this is yet – and it’s not singly about gay marriage, but about human beings treated with dignity and respect. It’s about shifting the pecking order so that hopefully there won’t be anyone at the bottom. [The film] is speaking from a place of love, facing fear and hatred. And the group in the film is sure of itself – their love is very deep and very strong. And it’s time. The time has come to stand up for ourselves and not be ashamed of who we are and who we love.

GLT: What’s next for you two? Any new projects in the works?

CG: Well, everybody has an idea, and ideas come daily! And there are a couple ideas we are actively starting to do some work on, but we joke that when Freedom to Marry lets go of us, we’ll get started on the next project. We really thought things were slowing down for a bit, but this film has a life of its own, which I think is a sign of a good film.