Out4Immigration to Co-Present Sebastian Cordoba’s 'Through Thick and Thin' at Frameline 31 LGBT Film Fest

San Francisco, CA, June 05, 2007 --(PR.com)-- In an effort to raise awareness about the heartbreaking—and unjust—realities of gay and lesbian Americans and their immigrant partners struggling to keep their families together in the face of discriminatory US immigration policies, Out4Immigration (www.out4immigration.org) will co-present Sebastian Cordoba’s powerful documentary 'Through Thick and Thin' at the Frameline 31 International LGBT Film Festival in San Francisco on June 20 and 21.

“Sebastian has captured the stark reality and bitter pain needlessly inflicted upon LGBT Americans and their foreign-born partners,” said Michael Lim, Vice President of Out4Immigration, a grassroots organization that advocates for an end to discrimination in US immigration policy. “It is especially important to raise awareness now, as the difficult struggles endured by the LGBT community have largely been forgotten or ignored in the immigration debate. Many groups in the immigrant coalitions, like the Catholic Church, don't like us because we're queer, and many groups in the LGBT community ignore us because we're immigrants. This documentary effectively puts human faces to the struggle that many would just assume ignore.”

It’s a little known issue in the US—and one that is completely being ignored by Congress in current immigration reform debate—that gay and lesbian American citizens in relationships with foreign partners do not have the same rights as their heterosexual counterparts when it comes to sponsoring the person they love for a green card. Unlike heterosexuals, who can marry their partner and then extend family unification provisions in current US immigration law to their spouse, gay and lesbian Americans are denied this right because their relationships are not recognized by the federal government. In spite of advances by some states to offer civil unions, domestic partnerships and marriage (as is the case in Massachusetts), these protections are null and void when it comes to immigration.

“The goal with 'Through Thick and Thin' is an educational one. Not only the public at large but also rural and urban gays and lesbians need to learn about the struggles that binational couples face in America," said filmmaker Sebastian Cordoba. “For some couples, this means moving to a different country, splitting families and leaving well-paid jobs. For others, it entails commuting between two faraway places. And for some, it means staying illegally in the United States. Our film intends to put a human face to the suffering of these 36,000 couples.”

A 2006 report published by the Human Rights Watch (http://hrw.org/reports/2006/us0506/) estimates that there are currently 36,000 gay and lesbian couples living in the US facing the harsh realities of discriminatory US immigration laws. Others believe this figure may be much higher. Those willing to report their status are often Americans whose partners are here legally on work or student visas. Visas, however, have time limits. And when these time limits run out, as 'Through Thick and Thin' shows, same-sex binational couples must confront certain issues.

The film's promotional materials say: “Planning for the future is near impossible: purchasing a home makes little sense for partners who may be torn apart at any moment on a court’s whim; legal cases loom large and impose an unnatural pace to these couples’ relationships; each moment spent together is imbued with the palpable urgency of a ticking clock.”

"Frameline is pleased to be screening a film that so powerfully documents the struggles of binational couples within the LGBT community. 'Through Thick and Thin' reminds us not only of the daily challenges these individuals face, but more importantly, shows their resilience in facing those challenges,” said Frameline Director of Programming, Jennifer Morris.

'Through Thick and Thin' will be screened twice at the Frameline 31 International LGBT Film Festival: June 20 at 7:00 p.m. at the Roxie Film Center and June 21 at 4:30 p.m. at the Castro Theatre. It is eligible for the Michael J. Berg Documentary Award. In addition to Out4Immigration, additional co-presenters of the film include Out & Equal Workplace Advocates and Deloitte. Tickets to both screenings are available from Frameline online at http://www.frameline.org/festival or at Superstar Satellite video store located at 474 Castro Street (between Market and 18th Street in San Francisco). The festival runs from June 14 through June 24.

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Out4Immigration addresses the widespread discriminatory impact of US immigration laws on the lives of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and HIV+ people and their families through education, outreach, advocacy and the maintenance of a resource and support network. For more information, visit www.out4immigration.org. To schedule interviews with same-sex binational couples who are available to speak with the media on this issue, including Spanish-speaking couples, please contact Amos Lim, amos@out4immigration.org at 415-375-3765 or K.T. Drasky, kathy@out4immigration.org at 415-606-2085.