The genesis of the film

The idea for this project began after attending the wedding of Jan Moore and Emily Sonnessa shortly after marriage equality passed as law in New Jersey. I was fortunate enough to have been an honored invitee to their wedding as a result of my own (now) wife's very active and successful involvement in the marriage equality movement in our state.

Not one for tearing up in public, I found myself actually sobbing as I watched these two women finally take their vows before us. After 45 years of living their lives together as a couple, raising 3 children, all the while hiding their "secret", Jan and Emily were finally "validated" in the eyes of the law. My tears were a combination of emotions, most of which were cried for the fact that New Jersey as well as the rest of our country had, up until now, denied Jan and Emily of the same rights as everybody else who got married.

The rest of my tears were shed for the sheer beauty of two people, truly in love after 45 years of being together, pledging their hearts before their closest friends and family members.

At the reception, I had the chance to talk with both Jan and Emily and find out more details about their love affair and the challenges they faced. I was immediately smitten with the idea of doing a documentary on them.

As part of the pre-production process, I began my research, reading newspaper articles about them. Jan and Emily, in spite of living in the closet for 45 years, are now flag-waving, card-carrying human rights activists with a rich history of marching on Trenton and advocating for civil rights. They are active members of Garden State Equality and Ocean Grove United.

I then went to their home one afternoon in Ocean Grove, without a camera...and sat down and truly got to know them.

There are many, many layers to Jan and Emily's story. But, the most compelling part of their story, to me, was the importance of documenting a part of history for future generations that showed how gay people had to, sadly, live double lives in many instances...at home...at work...at family functions, etc.

I too, am from this same past generation that grew up unwittingly subscribing to such traditional civil and moral values. I remember the secrets, living a double life and thinking that I was not entitled to the same hopes and dreams that everyone else was.

The young people of today (and I know this, because I teach college-aged students) will fortunately never have to deal with such ridiculousness. That kind of thinking and mindset is so foreign and beyond what their world is today, thankfully. Nevertheless these kinds of stories of how it used to be, need to be told.

So, for the past year, I've been working hard on this documentary, writing, directing, producing, shooting and now editing it with the hope of finishing it by the end of next month. I've shot at numerous locations and events in and around the Jersey shore. I've met dozens of people who can't wait to see the film...and best of all, I've spent many days with Jan and Emily who are truly endearing, fun, social and quite the characters.

At some point in the Spring, I plan on having a public screening of it, (TBD) and then entering it in numerous film festivals. My ultimate hope, is that it gets seen by as big an audience as possible.

I will keep you updated on the progress of "Love Wins" each week. Check back here often for further updates.