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STATUS UNKNOWN
Written by
Caroline Hart and Laurie Hart
Tag Line
When love and commitment just isn’t enough and prejudice is given a voice of authority.
Log Line
STATUS UNKNOWN is an inspiring true story of an American woman who followed her heart across the pond and fell in love with a British woman and the only thing tearing them apart is the Federal Government. When the law denies a green card, the status remains unknown, until the women challenge the law and embark on a social media frenzy proving that true love can win!
Synopsis
Caroline lands at Logan International Airport after visiting her family in England. She approaches the U.S. Customs and Border Control with trepidation having previously been sent down to Homeland Security Office for questioning, due to the length of time she spends in the USA. Laurie, Caroline’s American wife of 6 years, is excitedly waiting in arrivals.
When Caroline reaches the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer and hands over her passport and landing card her fears become reality when he doesn’t approve her entry into the USA and sends her down Homeland Security for interrogation. During the interrogation the two officers act belligerently towards Caroline and show no sign of understanding the difficult situation she is in, she is married to an American but because the Federal Government does not recognize same sex marriage Laurie cannot sponsor her to come into the country. All this time Laurie is waiting and becomes anxious as more and more people come through to arrivals and still there is no sign of Caroline.
Finally Caroline comes through to arrivals in tears, after almost being deported back to England. Laurie comforts Caroline and they decide the only thing they can do is fight for marriage equality and that is exactly what they do, telling their story to everyone who will listen and gathering support for their cause on social media, their story even reaches the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate.
Over and over again high profile personalities drive home the message about the in-justice of Caroline and Laurie’s situation. Finally the Supreme Court of the United States listens and DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act) is found un-constitutional and Laurie can sponsor Caroline. In the end LOVE WINS!
Why We Wrote This
When Laurie and I met back in 2005 we had no idea how hard we would have to fight to stay together, every step of the way our commitment was tested by the Federal Government and everyday people holding on to prejudice. The occasion this film depicts was the turning point for us; I was on the verge of being denied entry into the USA. I was sent down for interrogation at Boston’s Logan International Airport, it was a frightening and humiliating experience when all I wanted was to be re-united with my wife.
We then made the decision that it was either fight or flight, so obviously we chose to fight. I faced the chance of being deported so Laurie and I decided the only thing we could do was go high profile so we set out on a social media frenzy gathering support from a huge list of celebrities, sports stars, politicians, singers, TV stars and LGBT supporters and activists from around the world. We used our own personal story to bring attention to why marriage equality was so important and why DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) had to be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the USA.
DOMA was struck down on June 26th 2013 and as marriage equality spreads across America it may be easy to think that this has just happened and that life for all LGBT is getting easier but the truth is that the right to marry is just a tiny step forward. Acceptance is still a long way off and we have to keep showing the ways in which we have had to fight and continue to fight, as one law is broken down other’s pop up as groups try to stand in the way of love and commitment. Families fight for the right to stay together, to adopt, and to simply live without fear of hatred and discrimination.
We are delighted that many celebrities and activists who helped our fight for marriage equality now want to add their support to our short film to help bring about LGBT acceptance, they include Sharon Stone, Congressman Nadler, Elizabeth Vargas, GLAD Law, Harvey Milk Foundation, Martina Navratilova, Nigel Lythgoe, Representative Niki Tsongas, Toks Olagundoye, Mary Murphy and Billie Myers along with LGBT activists A Aryeh Perez, Carla Cabiz.
Why This Film Matters
STATUS UNKNOWN brings an important message about how LGBT people have been treated, what they have been through and continue to go through and how they have fought for simple rights and justice. We may have won some legal battles but acceptance is the biggest battle and the more we can highlight that the closer we are to achieving it.
STATUS UNKNOWN is a realistic look at how in our current time the LGBT community are still dealt with unjustly and still suffer at the hands of those who revel in degrading and humiliating same sex couples.
Join together with us and let’s change more minds in the world so that all LGBT can feel the dignity they deserve.
Written by
Caroline Hart and Laurie Hart
Tag Line
When love and commitment just isn’t enough and prejudice is given a voice of authority.
Log Line
STATUS UNKNOWN is an inspiring true story of an American woman who followed her heart across the pond and fell in love with a British woman and the only thing tearing them apart is the Federal Government. When the law denies a green card, the status remains unknown, until the women challenge the law and embark on a social media frenzy proving that true love can win!
Synopsis
Caroline lands at Logan International Airport after visiting her family in England. She approaches the U.S. Customs and Border Control with trepidation having previously been sent down to Homeland Security Office for questioning, due to the length of time she spends in the USA. Laurie, Caroline’s American wife of 6 years, is excitedly waiting in arrivals.
When Caroline reaches the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer and hands over her passport and landing card her fears become reality when he doesn’t approve her entry into the USA and sends her down Homeland Security for interrogation. During the interrogation the two officers act belligerently towards Caroline and show no sign of understanding the difficult situation she is in, she is married to an American but because the Federal Government does not recognize same sex marriage Laurie cannot sponsor her to come into the country. All this time Laurie is waiting and becomes anxious as more and more people come through to arrivals and still there is no sign of Caroline.
Finally Caroline comes through to arrivals in tears, after almost being deported back to England. Laurie comforts Caroline and they decide the only thing they can do is fight for marriage equality and that is exactly what they do, telling their story to everyone who will listen and gathering support for their cause on social media, their story even reaches the Judiciary Committee of the United States Senate.
Over and over again high profile personalities drive home the message about the in-justice of Caroline and Laurie’s situation. Finally the Supreme Court of the United States listens and DOMA (The Defense of Marriage Act) is found un-constitutional and Laurie can sponsor Caroline. In the end LOVE WINS!
Why We Wrote This
When Laurie and I met back in 2005 we had no idea how hard we would have to fight to stay together, every step of the way our commitment was tested by the Federal Government and everyday people holding on to prejudice. The occasion this film depicts was the turning point for us; I was on the verge of being denied entry into the USA. I was sent down for interrogation at Boston’s Logan International Airport, it was a frightening and humiliating experience when all I wanted was to be re-united with my wife.
We then made the decision that it was either fight or flight, so obviously we chose to fight. I faced the chance of being deported so Laurie and I decided the only thing we could do was go high profile so we set out on a social media frenzy gathering support from a huge list of celebrities, sports stars, politicians, singers, TV stars and LGBT supporters and activists from around the world. We used our own personal story to bring attention to why marriage equality was so important and why DOMA (the Defense of Marriage Act) had to be found unconstitutional by the Supreme Court of the USA.
DOMA was struck down on June 26th 2013 and as marriage equality spreads across America it may be easy to think that this has just happened and that life for all LGBT is getting easier but the truth is that the right to marry is just a tiny step forward. Acceptance is still a long way off and we have to keep showing the ways in which we have had to fight and continue to fight, as one law is broken down other’s pop up as groups try to stand in the way of love and commitment. Families fight for the right to stay together, to adopt, and to simply live without fear of hatred and discrimination.
We are delighted that many celebrities and activists who helped our fight for marriage equality now want to add their support to our short film to help bring about LGBT acceptance, they include Sharon Stone, Congressman Nadler, Elizabeth Vargas, GLAD Law, Harvey Milk Foundation, Martina Navratilova, Nigel Lythgoe, Representative Niki Tsongas, Toks Olagundoye, Mary Murphy and Billie Myers along with LGBT activists A Aryeh Perez, Carla Cabiz.
Why This Film Matters
STATUS UNKNOWN brings an important message about how LGBT people have been treated, what they have been through and continue to go through and how they have fought for simple rights and justice. We may have won some legal battles but acceptance is the biggest battle and the more we can highlight that the closer we are to achieving it.
STATUS UNKNOWN is a realistic look at how in our current time the LGBT community are still dealt with unjustly and still suffer at the hands of those who revel in degrading and humiliating same sex couples.
Join together with us and let’s change more minds in the world so that all LGBT can feel the dignity they deserve.
Organizer
Laurie and Caroline Hart
Organizer
Somerset, MA