SYNOPSIS Freeheld USA, 38 mins., Short Documentary LGBT Wide Angle Perspective Detective Lieutenant Laurel Hester spent 25 years investigating tough cases in Ocean County, New Jersey, protecting the rights of victims and putting her life on the line.  She had no reason to expect that in the last year of her life, after she was diagnosed with terminal cancer, that her final battle for justice would be for the woman she loved. The documentary film "Freeheld" chronicles Laurel's struggle to transfer her earned pension to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree.  With less than six months to live, Laurel refuses to back down when her elected officials – the Ocean County Freeholders – deny her request to leave her pension to Stacie, an automatic option for heterosexual married couples.  The film is structured chronologically, following both the escalation of Laurel's battle with the Freeholders and the decline of her health as cancer spreads to her brain. As Laurel’s plight intensifies, it spurs a media frenzy and a passionate advocacy campaign.  At the same time, "Freeheld" captures a quieter, personal story: that of the deep love between Laurel and Stacie as they face the reality of losing each other.  Alternating from packed public demonstrations at the county courthouse to quiet, tender moments of Laurel and Stacie at home, "Freeheld" combines tension-filled political drama with personal detail, creating a nuanced study of a grassroots fight for justice. Award-winning director Cynthia Wade is known for making films about polarizing social issues, usually told through the eyes of a strong female character.  Wade’s previous films include the HBO feature-length documentary "Shelter Dogs" and the Cinemax documentary "Grist For The Mill." Like "Shelter Dogs," "Freeheld" unflinchingly confronts risk and death, and chronicles a personal story with larger social implications.  Like "Grist For the Mill," the main character navigates both hope and loss as we move seamlessly between past and present. Amidst the media circus surrounding Laurel and Stacie, Wade was alone in being granted constant access to the couple, imbuing the film with an intimacy unavailable to the mainstream media.  For the last ten weeks of Laurel's life, Wade lived with Laurel and Stacie, slept in their guest room, stayed up late with them, and sat in the hospital with them.  Laurel wrote Wade into her Last Will and Testament as the only person allowed to film her memorial service. "Freeheld" is designed to promote public support for equal rights to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community, and to educate civil rights activists about Laurel Hester’s successful grassroots campaign.  The film's 38-minute length allows for the possibility of an Academy Award nomination in the Short Documentary category for 2008, an important election year where same-sex equality measures will be on many state ballots. The film's shorter length will enable the film to be used effectively as an outreach, advocacy and educational tool in 2008 and beyond. An anticipated national television broadcast in mid-2008 -- weeks before the national election -- should attract millions of viewers.  Additional media coverage surrounding national film festival screenings, as well as a comprehensive website and study guide for educators, will greatly enhance public attention to the film and its subject matter. While "Freeheld" covers one woman's battle in a small New Jersey town, Laurel's ultimate success has universal implications.  Her story is evidence that change can happen, even in the most unexpected places, when people stand up for what they believe.  It is also a reminder that despite progress, not all Americans enjoy the same civil rights. Director: Cynthia Wade's Sundance award-winning documentary Freeheld follows the historic battle of Lieutenant Laurel Hester, a dying New Jersey police officer who fights to transfer her pension to her domestic partner, Stacie Andree. As her elected officials, The Freeholders, stand firmly against her, and the town explodes around her, Laurel races against time to provide for the love of her life -- before it is too late. Producer: Vanessa Roth produced and directed the 2006 award-winning documentary “The Third Monday in October,” and co-produced and co-directed the award-winning 2004 PBS documentary “Aging Out”, which is the center of a multi-million-dollar foster care outreach campaign sponsored by the Annie Casey Foundation.  Roth's 2002 award-winning film “Close to Home” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired as a prime-time special on the Discovery Health Channel. Her 1998 PBS film “Taken In: The Lives of America's Foster Children” won the coveted duPont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Journalism.  Ms. Roth recently produced and directed the documentary portion of Ted Danson's Showtime pilot “The Danson Report”. Cynthia Wade Lieutenant Films, Inc. 170 Prospect Park West #4R Brooklyn, NY 11215