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Synopsis

To A More Perfect Union: U.S. v Windsor is a feature-length documentary that tells a story of love, marriage and a fight for equality. The film chronicles unlikely heroes — octogenarian Edie Windsor and her attorney, Roberta Kaplan, on their quest for justice: Edie had been forced to pay a huge estate tax bill upon the death of her spouse because the federal government denied federal benefits to same-sex couples – and Edie’s spouse was a woman. Deeply offended by this lack of recognition of her more than forty-year relationship with the love of her life, Edie decided to sue the United States government – and won. Windsor and Kaplan’s legal and personal journeys are told in their own words, and through interviews with others of the legal team, movement activists, legal analysts, well-known supporters and opponents. Beyond the story of this pivotal case in the marriage equality movement and the stories behind it, the film also tells the story of our journey as a people, as a culture, and as citizens with equal rights.

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Participants/Featuring

Lillian Faderman, Historian and Author

Roberta Kaplan, Windsor Attorney

Pam Karlan, Windsor Legal Team & Co-Director, Stanford Supreme Court Litigation Clinic

Rachel Lavine, Roberta’s spouse

Rosie O’Donnell, Comedian, Actor, Activist

Frank Rich, Writer-At-Large, NY Magazine

Hilary Rosen, Communications Advisor & LGBT Activist

Richard Socarides, White House Special Assistant & Advisor to President Clinton

Matt Staver, Founder & Chairman, Liberty Counsel

Jeff Toobin, CNN Legal Analyst & New Yorker Staff Writer

Nina Totenberg, Legal Affairs Correspondent, National Public Radio

Tony West, Former Associate U.S. Attorney General

Edie Windsor, Plaintiff

Evan Wolfson, Founder & President, Freedom to Marry

Donna Zaccaro (Director & Producer)

To A More Perfect Union: US v. Windsor Director and Producer Donna Zaccaro is the founder and President of Dazzling Media and Ferrodonna Features Inc. Both are New York-based media production companies – one for profit and the other nonprofit, with a mission of producing films about women, women’s issues and social justice issues. Previously, Donna served as the director and producer of Geraldine Ferraro: Paving the Way, a critically-acclaimed documentary about the trailblazer who made history as the first woman to run for national office on a major party ticket. Prior to founding her media production companies, Donna was a longtime, award-winning producer for the “Today” show at NBC News. She has also worked in other industries including politics, public affairs marketing and communications, and began her career in investment banking. 

Donna holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Brown University and an MBA in General Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Funding Provided By:

  • Just Films | The Ford Foundation
  • Carol Ammon & Marie Pinizzotto
  • Pamela Seymon
  • S & L Marx Foundation
  • The Marcus Family Fund

Paula Heredia (Editor & Producer)

Paula Heredia is a Salvadoran award-winning documentary producer, director, and editor, who has been honored by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences with an Emmy® for her work in the acclaimed HBO documentary In Memoriam, NYC 9/11/01. She has also been the recipient of the prestigious American Cinema Editors-ACE Eddie Award® for the acclaimed documentary Unzipped, and the Hispanic Creative Award for her director’s work in Teniendo Un Bebe. She received her second ACE Eddie Award® nomination for the HBO series The Weight of the Nation. For her documentary Africa Rising, Paula received the Best Woman Director Award at the International Documentary Film Festival in Soria and at the Festival of Cine Invisible in Bilbao, Spain. Her most recent film Alboradapremiere at the Habana Film Festival in Cuba, and this year for her film Toucan Nation Paula received the Humane Society’s Genesis Award for “creating outstanding works that raise awareness of animal protection issues“.

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