Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House (2002)

They're Jewish, they're grandmothers, and they're lesbians. But they're also so much more, as you'll find out in Deborah Dickson's powerful and intimate documentary. Ruth Berman and Connie Kurtz first met in Brooklyn in 1959, both young married women raising their young children. Becoming fast friends, they soon both moved with their families near Coney Island, where they became active community leaders. Then, in 1974, something incredible happened - they fell in love. Though struggling with homophobia, both society's and their own, Ruth and Connie decided to leave their marriages and children for one another. While it hasn't always been smooth sailing, they've ridden out the rough spots with humor, passion, and wisdom, redefining and reinventing their own version of "family values." Along the way, their political spirit resurfaces, leading to their fight against the New York City Board of Education for domestic partner benefits, and their establishment of a PFLAG chapter for retirees in Florida. Ruthie & Connie demonstrates the wit and wisdom, heartache and joy of these two wonderfully funny and deeply complex women who live their private lives in public and with passion.