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 ASK NOT (73 minutes) USA Director: Johnny Symons Producers: Johnny Symons, Leah Wolchok Description: Ask Not is a rare and compelling exploration of the effects of the U.S. military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy. The film exposes the tangled political battles that led to the discriminatory law and examines the societal shifts that have occurred since its passage in 1993. Current and veteran gay soldiers reveal how "don't ask, don't tell" affects them during their tours of duty, as they struggle to maintain a double life, uncertain of whom they can trust. From a national speaking tour of conservative universities to protests at military recruitment offices, these public events question how the U.S. military can claim to represent democracy and freedom while denying one segment of the population the right to serve. Biography: Johnny Symons is an award-winning Bay Area based documentary filmmaker. His film Daddy & Papa (2002), about the personal, cultural, and political impact of gay men raising kids, premiered at Sundance, won more than fifteen major festival awards, aired nationally on PBS' Independent Lens and received a national Emmy nomination for Best Documentary. Symons is the co-producer of the Academy Award-nominated Long Night's Journey Into Day (2000), which won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. Symons graduated with honors from Brown University and has a master's degree in documentary production from Stanford University. He currently teaches documentary film at both Stanford and the Art Institute of California-San Francisco. Leah Wolchok, co-producer, is an award-winning filmmaker who got her start in the documentary world at the Oxygen network. Her short films have screened at festivals worldwide, including the HBO Frame-by-Frame Documentary Film Series and Silverdocs. She received a BA in English from Yale and an MA in documentary production from Stanford. Contact Information: Johnny Symons Persistent Visions 6542 Tremont St Oakland, CA 94609 E-mail: johnny@johnnysymons.com Web site: http://www.asknotfilm.com |
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