The Devotion Project debuts final short film spotlighting same-sex couples

Next week, filmmaker and social activist Antony Osso will debut the sixth and final short film from his award-winning documentary series, The Devotion Project, which seeks to spotlight and celebrate the love and commitment of same-sex couples and their families. 

The final film in the series, "Foremost in My Mind," will chronicle the lives and love of Gail Marquis and Audrey Smaltz (right), an Olympic Medalist for women's basketball and a former model and fashion entrepeneur, respectively. The women married in New York City after twelve years together in November 2011. Check out their profile, where Smaltz explains that Marquis is "my life partner, my lover, my Sweetheart Gentle Giant," in The New York Times.

The film will debut at the LGBT Community Center in New York City on Wednesday, February 13, 2013 at 7:00pm. The presentation will feature screenings of all six films in The Devotion Project series. Freedom to Marry's Director of Online Programs, Michael Crawford, will be introducing the film and leading a Q&A session about why marriage matters after the screenings. Learn more about the screening and purchase tickets for the great event HERE

Antony Osso, who created and directed each installment in the project, explained his motivations for the work. He said:

In a world where LGBTQ people are in the spotlight mostly for the struggles they fight for equality, represented by outdated stereotypes perpetuated by the media, I reached a point where I needed to see and to present something more: couples and families who are happy and thriving right now. The concept of gay marriage is not new, and that's what I'm exploring in these films. 

The five previous films have featured a wide range of couples of various ages and backgrounds. Some of these include: John and Bill, New Yorkers who have been together for 54 years and are now coping with Parkinson's, Brian and Paul, who married on their 25th anniversary on the first weekend of the freedom to marry in New York in 2011, and Daniel and Vitor, who met in Ft. Lauderdale and have been together for eight years. 

"More Than Ever," the first film in the series, has won a number of awards in 2012, including audience and jury awards at Outfest, the Seattle LGBT Film Fest, and Out on Film Atlanta. 

The film project was largely funded by an April 2012 IndieGoGo crowdsourced campaign, which exceeded its fundraising goal by 25 percent and helped to complete the fifth and sixth films in the series. 

Each of the first five films are available on The Devotion Project's YouTube channel, and you can "like" The Devotion Project on Facebook. Watch the award-winning "More Than Ever" below, and learn more about the NYC event HERE