In the award-winning BREAKING THROUGH, openly LGBT elected officials at all levels – including the first gay US Senator, Tammy Baldwin – share their stories of self-doubt and triumph over multiple barriers ranging from race and poverty to gender and sexual orientation, revealing a deeply personal, rarely-seen side of politicians and gay people.
Though featuring politicians, it isn’t about politics: it’s about people who feel fear and shame, yearning to live meaningful lives. They reveal how they broke through internal and external barriers to achieve the future they envisioned, and by showing that “anything is possible,” they impact people from all walks of life.
"Ripped from the headlines about gay politicians breaking down borders in astonishing ways across America, Cindy L. Abel’s BREAKING THROUGH is groundbreaking in both its subject matter and its remarkably moving way of telling its subjects’ back stories. Masterful in its mix of immersive, intimate interviews and powerful motion graphics, this stirring sensory experience fixes in on fascinating subjects and doesn’t let viewers go for the duration of its efficient running time." Stephen Michael Brown, Silver Screen Capture
"Cindy Abel’s captivating and thoroughly rousing documentary BREAKING THROUGH is the kind of film that makes you wonder why all other documentaries can’t be as unique, polished, and impactful. It’s the kind of film that provides crystal-clear insight into unique obstacles facing LGBT people in our society while also inspiring all viewers to work to undo and overcome those impediments." Michael Mungin, Psychology Liaison Librarian, James Madison University
STATUS
Available on AppleTV+, Prime Video, PBS Video and DVD
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CREDITS
Director Cindy L. Abel
Director of Photography Michael Bruno
Producers Cindy L. Abel | Barbara J. Rubin
Executive Producer Kenneth Britt
Writers Jesse Stephen Freeman | Cindy L. Abel