A film that documents the case to
overturn Proposition 8, California's ban on gay marriage, on Saturday
was among the winners at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Filmmakers Ben Cotner and Ryan White
won the Directing Prize for U.S. Documentary for The Case Against
8.
California voters approved Proposition
8 in 2008, sparking massive protests in California and Utah, home to
the Mormon Church which played a key role in its passage.
The following year, two plaintiff
couples – Kristin Perry and Sandy Stier and Paul Katami and Jeff
Zarillo – challenged the amendment's constitutionally. It was the
first case to aim for the Supreme Court.
In accepting their prize, Cotner and
White thanked the plaintiffs, who have since married.
“[W]e hope all LGBT Americans can
soon walk in the same footsteps you did,” White said.
The case's lawyers also attracted much
media attention. David Boies and Ted Olson, who had previously
played adversaries in the landmark Bush vs. Gore, came
together to argue against Proposition 8. In the early stages of the
case, Olson, the conservative of the pair, was accused of attempting
to sabotage the marriage movement with a Supreme Court defeat.
The Case Against 8 will be
broadcast on HBO later this year.