SURVIVING THE SILENCE is an independent film that will bring people together and offer a deeper look at our shared humanity and a greater understanding of what some sacrificed in order to serve the United States.
In 1992, Colonel Patsy Thompson was a decorated Army nurse, only two years away from retirement. She was asked to preside over the military review board that eventually dismissed Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer for admitting she was a lesbian. Although Thompson had served her country with distinction for over thirty years - from conflict zones in Central America to working inside the Pentagon - that appointment was perhaps the hardest. In that moment, she had to protect her own life secret: she too was a lesbian and living privately with her life partner Barbara Brass for many years.
In this film, Patsy and Barbara candidly revisit their life together and how they found love against a backdrop of impossible choices. By film’s end, they find something even more important and unexpected—their own voices as out and proud lesbians, later-in-life social activists, and dynamic role models for others.
Surviving the Silence Trailer from Cindy L Abel on Vimeo
