ChristianWeek

EDMONTON, AB—An Alberta filmmaker who felt there was a very strong push to sway the public in one direction during the same-sex marriage debate has created a feature-length film to give voice to unheard opinions.

C-38: The Search for Marriage is a 77-minute exploration of marriage and same-sex issues, featuring on-the-street interviews and responses to pointed, thought-provoking questions.

“A lot of people fight for equal rights with same-sex marriage and there were a lot of slogans that didn’t make an argument but were just tools to sway the media,” says 26-year-old filmmaker Eric Spoeth, who produced C-38 with his brother, Jerome.

“Pro-traditional marriage leaders were dismayed the public hearings process was cut short and its report never presented. The view of ordinary citizens and experts on both sides of the issue needed to be fairly presented,” he says.

Spoeth is Roman Catholic but is quick to point out that the film contains no political ideology and no religious arguments because “they wouldn’t make a difference to people who have no faith.” He says many people are afraid to voice their views, either because they don’t want to face persecution from gay rights activists or because they don’t want to be seen to be opposing someone’s rights.

“We’re not silencing any arguments in the film. The first 15 minutes we present arguments for same-sex marriage and then present corresponding arguments against it,” he says. “The pro-family people see the first 15 minutes then won’t watch the rest of it—perhaps it’s alienated a lot of people.”

The brothers have been unsuccessful in acquiring a distributor for the film and the national television networks aren’t interested.

“Mainstream media outlets consider it a dead issue now that the Harper government isn’t talking about it anymore,” says Spoeth. “The topic is still a hot button in the U.S., so there may be some interest down there.”

In the meantime, they have decided to distribute it themselves, screening C-38 in schools, libraries and selling it on their website for $22.50 plus shipping. To date, 1,000 copies have been sold.

The University of Alberta has expressed an interest in using the film in their law programs dealing with human rights and a Catholic school in Red Deer is using pieces of the film in a religious studies class.

Carl Fakeley, a teacher at Red Deer’s Notre Dame High School is using the on-the-street interview portion of the film to show students how the Canadian public needs to put much more thought into the issue of same-sex marriage.

“In the film, people were asked to define marriage. Most people said that two people who love each other, regardless of gender, should get married. Then, these same people were asked, ‘what if those two people were cousins or brothers and sisters,’ and people would say, ‘well no, that’s not natural.’ Then, they were asked about polygamy. Why not more than two people who love each other? People were getting backed into a corner,” Fakeley says.

“People are just headline people and don’t dig any further.”

In Fakeley’s opinion, it’s only a very small percentage of gays going to the altar and as such they may not have a substantial impact on society. He believes that a high divorce rate among Christians will do a lot more to destroy the sanctity of marriage than gay marriage will.

Spoeth says that after making the film he personally sees marriage as an incredible sacrifice, and not just about love.

“We look at marriage as disposable. People should be more discriminating about who they get into a relationship with,” he says. “Everyone who sees the film will re-discover what marriage is about.”