Maple Palm an intense independent feature film dealing with immigration equality for gay and lesbian binational couples launches new website wwwMaplePalmMoviecom



"Maple Palm," a raw and brutally intense independent feature film by guerrilla filmmaker, Ralph Torjan, launches its new website to a film that promises to pull no punches in its intense depiction of the harsh circumstances faced by gay and lesbian bi-national couples.

Film Synopsis:

What if the love you cherished could be ripped from you, and there's nothing you could do to stop it. Could you leave everything behind at a moment's notice Would you fight to stay together, or let bureaucracy tear you apart What would you sacrifice to be with the one you love If a gay American falls in love with a foreigner, there is no legal way for the couple to remain together. Obfuscated by gay-marriage and general immigrant backlash, few options exist for bi-national couples. The choices are dire - live apart from the one you love, live together as fugitives, or flee the U.S. in search of freedom in one of sixteen countries that currently support same-sex immigration.

When Congressman Jerrold Nadler (NY) reintroduced the Uniting American Families Act to Congress, he was invited to speak on a national news program about the bill. The news anchor patiently listened as the Congressman explained what the bill hoped to achieve, then curtly replied: "so you know this bill has no chance of passing, right" A crude remark, yet a cold hard truth known by tens of thousands of gay Americans living with anxiety and helplessness over finding a solution to a problem few know exist. If you're a gay American in love with a person from another country the facts are simple:

There's no hope. No way out. No one knows. And no one cares.

Be it general ignorance to the issue or simply indifference to a shunned sector of society, the end result is the same - if you're gay, you're not free to be with the person you love if that person is a citizen of another country. And since immigration falls under Federal jurisdiction, getting married in Massachusetts or Canada is not an option. Straight men can order third-word brides over the internet, but loving same-sex bi-national couples cannot legally stay together no matter how many years their relationship spans.

Maple Palm is NOT a gay-marriage advocacy film. It is a presentation of facts:

Two lesbians are in love. One is an Illegal Alien. The couple lives in the shadows of society. One day, their biggest fear comes true - their secret is exposed. Now they must choose - fight to stay together, or let bureaucracy rip them apart.

Each year, thousands of same-sex bi-national couples are forced apart by deportation or forced to flee their homeland to live together in a country that supports same-sex immigration.

Sixteen countries currently recognize same-sex couples for the purpose of immigration.

The United States is not one of them.

What would you sacrifice to be with the person you love





Maple Palm an intense independent feature film dealing with immigration equality for gay and lesbian binational couples launches new website wwwMaplePalmMoviecom