Filmmaker
I made my first film in 1977 when I was a college student. We filmed in Super-8, before the Electronics Age, which is why it looks a bit fuzzy on your computer, phone or other device.
In 1973 abortion was legalized in the US and soon feminists started providing services. Within a few years for-profit healthcare companies, such as the Preterm Clinic in Brookline, Massachusetts, got into the market.
Workers at the clinic affiliated with SEIU Local 1199 to address concerns about working conditions and pay. In 1976 they went out on strike. While the union offered minimal assistance, the wider Boston feminist, labor and progressive community joined their picket lines. In 1977 the women couldn't hold out any longer and returned to work. The NLRB eventually ruled in their favor although six of the most militant strikers were denied back pay.
Screenshot from Now That It’s Legal
Hailed as a pioneering achievement when it was first released in 1984, Choosing Children dramatically challenged the assumption that being lesbian means you can't be a mom. Six lesbian-headed families make decisions about how to become pregnant, navigate the process of adoption, whether to involve men in parenting, and address reactions from relatives, doctors and schoolmates. In so doing, they helped redefine what "family" means and opened the door for everyone to consider parenting, regardless of sexual orientation.
The original 16mm film print was preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive as part of the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation with digital restoration by Zoetrope Aubry Productions.
Choosing Children was the only film from the United States dealing with lesbian issues selected for the International Film Forum in Nairobi at the celebration of the United Nations Decade of Women in 1985. It played at the Film Forum in New York City, was broadcast on Independent Lens, WNET and KQED and won numerous awards.
Screenshot from Choosing Children
The rest of this page is still under construction.