Roots In My Garden
Roots In My Garden is a short drama inspired by a landmark case in
the fight for LGBTQ parental rights.
The historic custody case occurred surprisingly recently, in the 1990’s, right here in Sonoma County.
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Logline
Seeking the woman she called “Mama,” a young woman returns to her childhood home to discover she was the center of a nationally publicized custody battle between her two mothers.
Trailer
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The Making Of
"You know that saying, ‘it takes a village to raise a child’?- Jessica
Well, it also takes a village to make a movie.
It has been almost two years since our first meeting where Doug and Stan introduced us to Jo and the Roots In My Garden story. Since then, our team has grown; we had a successful crowdfunding campaign, auditions, pre-production, principal photography and finally post postproduction. And during a pandemic! Now that post is complete, it seems like a great time to introduce you to that village.
Our talented actors: Terran, Dominic, Lynda, Kate, Margarita, Jemel, Clarisse, Colette, Eloise, the face of this movie, gave fantastic performances.
All the behind the scenes crew:
Camera: Stephen and Paul
G&E: Kevin, Ren, Ben, Ethan, Angelo
Sound: Stan, Adam
Hair & Make Up: Wendy, Nicole,
Grips/ PAs: Gary, Brian, Agustin, David, Nia
Production/Craft: Courtney, Kip, Jo, Pat, Doug, Tony, Denise
And our background actors: There were 24 generous individuals who spent the day with us, in our airport and made all the difference. It was a long day, but their airport traveler performances were spot-on!
When the shooting is over, the long post process begins, effects, color grading, music and sound design are what really bring the film to life.
Our hard-working post production team:
Editorial: Shelly
Effects: Shelly and Ilena
Color Grading: Stephen
Sound Design/Mix: Stan
Original Score: Spiky Blimp
"Branches" Written by Mark Montgomery French and Sage Baggott, Performed by Spiky Blimp ft. Jules Indelicato
Each of these people contributed their talent, enthusiasm, and hard work; hundreds of dollars of in-kind services that allowed us to make a $50,000+ film for $15,000 cash. And they have been such a pleasure to work with.
Thank you all for your support. Thank you for believing in us, and in the story, and the importance of our message; equality, of parental rights, of family. We are so proud to be part of this team.
Well, it also takes a village to make a movie.
It has been almost two years since our first meeting where Doug and Stan introduced us to Jo and the Roots In My Garden story. Since then, our team has grown; we had a successful crowdfunding campaign, auditions, pre-production, principal photography and finally post postproduction. And during a pandemic! Now that post is complete, it seems like a great time to introduce you to that village.
Our talented actors: Terran, Dominic, Lynda, Kate, Margarita, Jemel, Clarisse, Colette, Eloise, the face of this movie, gave fantastic performances.
All the behind the scenes crew:
Camera: Stephen and Paul
G&E: Kevin, Ren, Ben, Ethan, Angelo
Sound: Stan, Adam
Hair & Make Up: Wendy, Nicole,
Grips/ PAs: Gary, Brian, Agustin, David, Nia
Production/Craft: Courtney, Kip, Jo, Pat, Doug, Tony, Denise
And our background actors: There were 24 generous individuals who spent the day with us, in our airport and made all the difference. It was a long day, but their airport traveler performances were spot-on!
When the shooting is over, the long post process begins, effects, color grading, music and sound design are what really bring the film to life.
Our hard-working post production team:
Editorial: Shelly
Effects: Shelly and Ilena
Color Grading: Stephen
Sound Design/Mix: Stan
Original Score: Spiky Blimp
"Branches" Written by Mark Montgomery French and Sage Baggott, Performed by Spiky Blimp ft. Jules Indelicato
Each of these people contributed their talent, enthusiasm, and hard work; hundreds of dollars of in-kind services that allowed us to make a $50,000+ film for $15,000 cash. And they have been such a pleasure to work with.
Thank you all for your support. Thank you for believing in us, and in the story, and the importance of our message; equality, of parental rights, of family. We are so proud to be part of this team.
Roots In My Garden is complete!
Inspiration for the Film
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Roots In My Garden is a short drama inspired by a landmark case in the fight for LGBTQ parental rights. The historic custody case occurred surprisingly recently, in the 1990’s. At that time, LGBTQ parents didn’t have the rights we have today. Families could be torn apart and children uprooted, never realizing their missing “Mama” or “Daddy” was not considered a parent under the law.
We must never take our rights for granted. The fight for equality is ongoing and there is constant and evolving push back. We have only to look at the recent Supreme Court ruling allowing religious organization to deny same sex married couples equal access to adoptions, to understand how quickly those rights can be taken away. If we, even for a moment, lose focus, those rights can be lost. |
Reel Freedom optioned the story rights from Jo Lauer, whose articles and essays have appeared in regional and national periodicals. She has published a novella, two cozy-mystery series with LGBT themes, and a collection of stories, which can be found on Amazon.
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Roots In My Garden was adapted from a short story by Jo Lauer, who in 1992, witnessed a child being torn away from her non-biological mother when a well known lesbian couple in her community split up. One Mom left and took their child with her. The other Mother found herself with no recourse and no rights, despite a hard fought legal battle over LGBTQ parental rights. Roots In My Garden tells the story of Emily, who finds a stack of unopened letters addressed to her. They are from the woman she knew as “Mama”, who she hadn’t heard from in over 20 years. Emily travels to California to try to reconnect her and finds out she had been the center of a nationally publicized custody battle between her lesbian mothers. Jo wrote the story to offer a better ending, a glimmer of hope to hold onto until the law could change.
Parental rights are the foundation of the family and are fundamental to protecting it. If we don’t remember the pain of the old traditions they are likely to return. This project includes diverse voices; LGBTQ+ families that have suffered under the law, and some that have benefited from legal protections. Most people, even members of the LGBTQ community don’t realize a patchwork of state laws surrounds our parental rights, or how recently those protections were enacted. We all know the current political environment continues to threaten these fragile victories.
That is why we are so passionate about Roots In My Garden.
Parental rights are the foundation of the family and are fundamental to protecting it. If we don’t remember the pain of the old traditions they are likely to return. This project includes diverse voices; LGBTQ+ families that have suffered under the law, and some that have benefited from legal protections. Most people, even members of the LGBTQ community don’t realize a patchwork of state laws surrounds our parental rights, or how recently those protections were enacted. We all know the current political environment continues to threaten these fragile victories.
That is why we are so passionate about Roots In My Garden.
Director's Statement
Time is short for people still alive today to tell their stories of the times before same-sex-marriage, gay adoption, gender identity, etc. I’m one of a very small number of directors that lived through those times and experienced the misunderstanding and discrimination directed against the LGBTQA community.
Roots In My Garden tells the story of a mother that lost who child because of discrimination against lesbian couples. I will bring a unique voice to Roots In My Garden as I too experienced the threat to take away my parental rights because of who I am. It is important to remember how failure of the political and judicial systems to keep up with these changes has impacted nontraditional families. – Shelly Prevost
Roots In My Garden tells the story of a mother that lost who child because of discrimination against lesbian couples. I will bring a unique voice to Roots In My Garden as I too experienced the threat to take away my parental rights because of who I am. It is important to remember how failure of the political and judicial systems to keep up with these changes has impacted nontraditional families. – Shelly Prevost
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Information
A film by Michelle Prevost and Ilena Ferrer Genre: Drama Running Time: 23:55 Status: Complete |
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