Heart of Broadway goes inside Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS for a look at the organization, which, by drawing upon the talents, resources, and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 has raised more than $195 million for essential services for people with AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States. The special takes viewers backstage and behind the scenes for conversations with key players who reveal what makes this one of the most influential organizations in the world. Featured celebrities, who’ve repeatedly and graciously donated their time and talents to Broadway Cares, include Denis O’Hare, Marc Kudisch, Jerry Mitchell, Tom Viola, Judith Light, Jen Cody, Terrence McNally, Lillias White, Kathleen Chalfant, Billy Porter, and Ann Harada.

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Rana and Adineh, two women of very different backgrounds and social class are accidentally brought together to share a journey. Rana, inexperienced, religious and bound by traditions, is forced to drive a cab in order to survive f inancially. Adineh, wealthy yet rebellious, has escaped from her home. Along the way, Rana begins to understand that her passenger is a transsexual who is planning on having an operation. For Rana, comprehending and accepting such a reality is close to impossible and tantamount to abandoning everything she was raised to believe. (Description courtesy of the Montreal World Film Festival.)

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In June 2003, the Episcopal Church in New Hampshire came under fire when it became the first to elect an openly gay man, Gene Robinson, as a bishop. Since that flash point, Robinson has been at the center of the contentious battle for LGBT people to receive full acceptance in the faith. Director Macky Alston (whose film, Family Name, won the Freedom of Expression Award at the 1997 Sundance Film Festival) follows Robinson into the breach in the struggle for equality. While resolute in his calling, Robinson grows increasingly critical of the central role that religious institutions have played in fostering homophobia and hatred. He is pointedly not invited to a once-a-decade convocation of bishops and courts controversy by attending. His presence the next year for the Episcopal General Convention underscores the impact of its impending decisions about the church’s stance on the consecration of future gay bishops and the performance of same-sex marriage ceremonies. While Robinson never intended to be the poster boy for gay bishops, Love Free or Die demonstrates that he has become a beacon of hope for millions. His history-making church provides a model for other communities of faith to treat all people with dignity and respect, regardless of their sexuality. (Description courtesy of the Sundance Film Festival.) Winner, U.S. Documentary Special Jury Prize for An Agent of Change, Sundance Film Festival.

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