Johnny Symons is an Emmy-nominated Bay Area filmmaker with a 15-year history of creating documentaries about gay culture. His film Daddy & Papa (2002), about the personal, cultural, and political impact of gay men raising kids, premiered at Sundance, won more than 15 major festival awards, aired nationally on PBS’ Independent Lens and received a national Emmy nomination for Best Documentary. He recently completed Ask Not (2008), a documentary exploring the effects of the US military’s ’don’t ask, don’t tell’ policy on gay and lesbian soldiers and service members. Ask Not premiered at San Francisco International Film Festival and will be airing on PBS’ Independent Lens in June 2009.

Symons filmography also includes Beyond Conception (2006), a feature documentary about the relationship between a lesbian surrogate and a gay male couple as they conceive and bear a child, which premiered at the Florida Film Festival and aired on Discovery Health Channel; Beauty Before Age (1997), an exploration of the fear of growing older in the gay male community, which received an NEMN Gold Apple and an IDA nomination; Shaving the Castro (1995), a portrait of a 70-year old Castro Street barber shop, which aired nationally on public television; and Out in Africa (1994), an exploration of black African gay life, which was named Best Documentary at the Turin Gay and Lesbian Film Festival. Symons is also the co-producer of the Academy Award nominated Long Night’s Journey Into Day (2000), which won the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival.

Symons graduated with honors from Brown University and has a Master’s degree in documentary production from Stanford University. He currently teaches documentary film at both Stanford and the Art Institute of California- San Francisco.

LINDSAY SABLOSKY, Co-Producer

Co-Producer Lindsay Sablosky has production and editing credits on several feature length documentaries and has worked on numerous PBS series including Frontline, Season by Season, and Independent View, as well as the A&E cable series Biography. She is Associate Producer of Hope Along the Wind: The Life of Harry Hay, a documentary by Eric Slade chronicling the life of the founder of the American gay rights movement, which premiered at the 2001 San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and is a 2002 San Francisco International Film Festival Golden Gate Award winner.

She worked as assistant editor on The Fillmore, the fourth installment of KQED's Peabody Award-winning series Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco and recipient of an EMMY for Outstanding Documentary. Currently, she is producing, with Bay Area director Goro Toshima, A Hard Straight, a documentary chronicling the lives of three paroles as they re-enter society after years of incarceration.

KIM ROBERTS, Editor

Editor Kim Roberts has edited, produced, and written a number of award winning documentary and narrative films. One of her recent projects, Daughter from Danang , documenting the return of an Amerasian orphan to Vietnam for a reunion with her birth mother, received a 2003 Academy Award nomination for Best Documentary Feature and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. The film had its national broadcast in 2003 on PBS’s American Experience . Roberts also edited two other documentary features which premiered on PBS: A Hard Straight and Lost Boys of Sudan. She was Second Editor on Long Night's Journey Into Day ; and Associate Producer/Assistant Editor on the Frontline documentary The Gate of Heavenly Peace, winner of a 1996 Peabody Award. She received her Master’s degree in documentary production at Stanford University.

ANDY ABRAHAMS WILSON, Cinematographer

Andy Abrahams Wilson is a freelance cinematographer and independent producer/director. Recent productions include Bubbeh Lee & Me (HBO, Emmy nomination) and Hope Is the Thing with Feathers(Showtime Networks). A recipient of a Pew Charitable Trust Fellowship in Dance/Media, Wilson has produced several films about dance or dancers, including Positive Motion (Best of Show, Dance on Camera Festival), Embracing Earth (Silver Spire, Dance on Camera Festival), Casualty (First Place, Planet Out Short Movie Award) and the soon to be released Returning Home.

Currently, he is in production on the documentary feature Alfredo's Fire (IFP No Borders Selection) about a Sicilian writer who set himself on fire at the Vatican as a protest against the Church's condemnation of homosexuality. In addition to his work as cinematographer on Daddy & Papa and his own films, he served as Director of Photography and Co-Producer for the upcoming doc feature Touched. Wilson is founder of Open Eye Pictures, past Budget Director of the film distribution cooperative New Day Films, and voting member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences.

GAIL HUDDLESON, Cinematographer

Gail Huddleson is a documentary cinematographer and editor based in San Francisco, CA. Her videography credits include Johnny Symons' previous film, Beauty Before Age, as well as other independent documentaries and the PBS series, In the Life.

She is the Editor and Story Editor of Muhammad, Legacy of a Prophet, a feature length documentary that interweaves the life story of Muhammad with vignettes featuring contemporary Muslim communities. It was broadcast on PBS in December 2002. Previously, she edited National Geographic Television's The Conquerors, the fourth hour in an eight part series about the origins of animal life, The Shape of Life. She was also First Assistant Editor for the series.

Gail holds a Master's degree from the Documentary Film and Video Program at Stanford University, and is the recipient of the 1996 Guild Award for Documentary Film from the Princess Grace Foundation, USA.

PHIL PERKINS, Audio Post-production

A 27-plus year veteran of the motion picture sound business, Philip Perkins' recent film mixes include Downside Up, The Legacy, The Split Horn, Rising Waters, Passion and Discipline, Out, and numerous other multi-award-winning documentaries. He is a member of the Cinema Audio Society and IATSE, and works out of the San Francisco area. (www.philper.com)

MICHAEL LANNAN, Assistant Editor

Michael Lannan has worked as a researcher, photographer, and assistant editor on several feature documentaries, including the upcoming PBS program, The Insular Empire, now in production. In addition to his editing duties, Michael has served as the DADDY & PAPA webmaster, festival coordinator, and distribution coordinator.

FULL PRODUCTION CREDITS

DIRECTOR/PRODUCER/WRITER
Johnny Symons

CO-PRODUCER
Lindsay Sablosky

EDITOR
Kim Roberts

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Gail Huddleson
Johnny Symons
Andy Abrahams Wilson

ORIGINAL SCORE
Janice Giteck

ADDITIONAL MUSIC
David Conley
Glenys Rogers

AUDIO POST PRODUCTION
Philip Perkins, C.A.S.

ASSISTANT EDITORS
Gentle Blythe
Michael Lannan
Ruthie Sakheim
Asako Ushio

ADDITIONAL CINEMATOGRAPHY
Lisa Denker
John Glick
Charlotte Lagarde
Peter LoGreco
Sienna McLean
Kim Roberts
Laleh Soomekh
Martha Swetzoff
Asako Ushio
Vanessa Warheit

SOUND RECORDISTS
Rachel Antell
Sienna McLean
Jen Petrucelli

ON LINE EDITOR
Bob Campbell

TITLE DESIGN
James Kenney

AFTEREFFECTS EDITOR
Andrew Damon

MUSICIANS
Kevin Barrans, percussion
Sura Charlier, woodwinds
David Conley, guitar
Richard Fultineer, drums
Judy Geist, viola
Janice Giteck, piano
Toby Hanson, accordion
Sam Potsubay, harmonica
Glenys Rogers, vocals, percussion
Andy Stoller, bass

MUSIC RECORDING
Mydnyte Productions

TRANSCRIPTION
Annie Hershey
Lakshmi Kerner
Meredith McMonigle
Monique Ramirez
Jen Speed
Mae Yao

ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE & STILLS
Lynn Black
Dora Dean Bradley
Brad Braverman
Philip Himberg
Doug Houghton
In the Life Media, Inc.
Cathy Smith
Kelly Wallace
Fannie & Jim Williams
Albert J. Winn
Louis Wolfson II Media History Center

WPLG 10, Miami

PUBLICITY STILLS
Kim Larson

WEBSITE DESIGN
Gabriel Jensen/Jig Interactive

ON LINE FACILITY
Varitel Modern Videofilm

AUDIO FACILITY
The See A Dog, Hear A Dog Co.

CLOSED CAPTIONING
Pillar to Post

LEGAL ADVISORS
Peter Franck
Richard Lee

FISCAL SPONSORS
Iris Feminist Collective
Swell Cinema

FUNDING
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Pacific Pioneer Fund
California Council for the Humanities
The Ted Snowdon Foundation
Paul Robeson Fund for Independent Media/Funding Exchange
The Edna Wardlaw Trust
Film Arts Foundation Grants Program
PG&E Lesbian and Gay Youth Education Fund/The Horizons Foundation
James Gillis & Pierre Mitchell
Ken & Alan (the Bubbies)
Thom Lynch
Robert H. Martin

ADVISORY BOARD
Peter Biella
Luna Calderon
Scottye J. Cash
Estelle Freedman
Joshua Gamson
Joe Gonzales
Ellen Lewin
Meredith Maran
Frances Reid
Scott Ryan

SUBJECTS
Sharon Anderson
Gil Avila
Jim Ballantine
Fanny Ballantine-Himberg
Dora Dean Bradley
Philip Himberg
Doug Houghton
Steven Kozlowski
Ginnie Potsubay
William Rogers
Jack Rosenfeld
Cathy Smith
Susie Symons
Zachary Symons-Rogers
Jesse Wallace
Kelly Wallace
Nancy Wallace
Ray Wallace
Fannie & Jim Williams
Helen Williams
Oscar Williams
Vincent Zamora

SPECIAL THANKS
Daniel Baer
Marlene Booth
John Bouffard
David Boyer
Ken Brecher
Josh Burke
John Burrow
Cathedral School for Boys
Laurel Chiten
Garth Clark
Michael Colberg
Janet Cole
Rich Costello
Eli Despres
Gail Dolgin
Juan Doubrechat
Eric Ferrero
Gloria Fowler
Jeffrey Friedman
John Haptas
Pamela Harris
Vivien Hilgrove
Donna J. Hitchens
Christine Hoang
Deborah Hoffmann
Nellie Hurth
Richard Inlander
John F. Kraetzer
Charlotte Lagarde
Jon Logan
Scott McAbee
Kevin Monahan
Mylene Moreno
Megan Mylan
Roger Nelson
People for the American Way
Dina Quan
Amy Quinn
John Ratliff
Frances Reid
Rosemary Roach
Susan Rogers
Will Rountree
Kris Samuelson
San Francisco State Univ. Cinema Dept
Elizabeth Schwartz
Bill Sheehan's Tuxedo Junction
Jon Shenk
Tom Shepard
Howard Simon
Hanlon Smith-Dorsey
Rebecca Snedeker
Meema Spadola
Deborah Stover
Brian Sussman
Amy Symons
Joe Symons
Shirley Thompson
Goro Toshima
AJ Turpin
Michael Wald
Ellie Waxman
And especially to William


Recording studios courtesy of KING FM and Cornish College of the Arts, Seattle, WA,
and Pierce College, Tacoma, WA

Daddy's Home written by James Sheppard & William Henry Miller
Courtesy of EMI Publishing
and Music Sales Corporation, Three Wise Boys Music LLC
Performed by Shep & the Limelites
Courtesy of Rhino Records
By arrangement with Warner Special Products and EMI Special Markets

Chapter iv Reprise
Composed and performed by Michael Halaas

Brian's Kids appears courtesy of KPIX-TV 5, San Francisco

Rugrats excerpt from
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Paramount Studios

Produced in association with the Independent Television Service.

This program was produced by Johnny Symons, who is solely responsible for its content.

© 2002 Johnny Symons. All Rights Reserved.