2007 is a huge year for Redstar Productions. It marks the release of our first feature-length film and the end of a five-year journey.
The story officially began in 2002 when seven couples in the state of New Jersey filed a lawsuit in hopes of legalizing same-sex marriage. As they began their lawsuit, Redstar Productions began to record their pursuit of justice.
Marilyn Maneely, a long-time family friend of Director Pilar Prassas, was a plaintiff in the lawsuit fighting for the right to marry her partner of 14 years, Diane Marini. The two were raising five children from Marilyn's first marriage.
At the origin of the project, Prassas was drawn to the children of the couples and hoped to produce a true portrayal of reality for children growing up with same-sex parents. Two years into the project, Marilyn was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, better known as Lou Gehrig's disease. ALS is a motor neuron disease that is terminal and brutally debilitating, ultimately resulting in complete paralysis and death.
With Marilyn's approval, Redstar Productions found a new destination. We began filming her personal struggle with the disease, experiencing first-hand the devastation of ALS. They witnessed the coming together of a community to support an activist, the heartbreak of a partner who would never realize the dream of marriage, and the quest of five children to help their mother live her last days with dignity and purpose.
