BALLOT MEASURE 9 offers terrifying inside views of a divisive gay-rights battle and the uncommon violence it provoked across the state of Oregon. A “Yes” vote on referendum “9” would constitutionally mandate teaching that homosexuality is “abnormal, wrong, unnatural and perverse” and would revoke any civil-rights protections based on sexual identity. The inflammatory rhetoric led to an inevitable surge of anti-gay harassment, physical attacks and even murder. Local activists, fearing for their lives, slept with guns under their beds and had full-time police protection. Families were torn apart, neighbor set against neighbor. Director MacDonald ducks behind the headlines to bare the passions and strategies that drove both sides. Culled from hundreds of hours of material shot over the nine months leading to the election, BALLOT MEASURE 9 tells a story of driving urgency. As the violence escalates, the documentary acquires the tension and suspense of a fiction film. “A far-ranging exposé of hate that crosses lines of race, religion and sexual identity, this might be the next training manual on how to rescue the soul of America” (B. Ruby Rich). Winner of jury and audience awards internationally, including the Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, and frequently named one of the best films of the year. “A picture to make you scream.” (The Nation) “One of the year’s outstanding documentaries.” (Seattle Times) “Emotionally sizzling” (San Francisco Chronicle) “Positively simmers” (Los Angeles Weekly) "Breathlessly paced." (Newsday) "Unnerving." (New Yorker) "Galvanizing." (New York Times) Winner: 1995 Sundance Audience Award, Berlin Film Festival Teddy Bear, Los Angeles OutFest Grand Jury Prize, Edinburgh Film Festival-Best of the Fest, People's Choice Denver International Film Festival, GLAAD Media Award-Best Documentary.
