Don’t Ask Don’t Tell Documentary Filmed In Ansonia

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A documentary about the U.S. military’s Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” policy — filmed in Ansonia — aired this week to coincide with the repeal of the policy.

In the documentary, named Don’t Ask Don’t Tell,” the Ansonia Armory served as a backdrop for dozens of stories about how soldiers coped with the policy, which banned openly gay soldiers from serving in the military. 

Don’t Ask Don’t Tell officially ended on Sept. 20.

In the documentary, actor Marc Wolf performs a series of monologues, quoting gay, lesbian and straight soldiers talking about the policy. The monologues are based on real interviews with real soldiers and family members that Wolf completed over several years. 

The interviews were previously the content of a one-man off-Broadway show Wolf produced called Another American: Asking and Telling.”

The documentary can be viewed online at SnagFilms.

By choosing to film in an actual abandoned Armory, the filmmakers found a real life setting for the characters that is natural, cinematic and, crucially, has great resonance with the film’s subject,” the synopsis on SnagFilms reads. 

The film’s producer, Joselyn Allen, found Ansonia’s armory through the CT Film Division, which has some Ansonia sites listed on its film location guide. 

Click here to read background on Ansonia’s effort to get sites listed on the film location guide. 

John Marini, a Board of Aldermen member who is the liaison for the Economic Development Commission, said the city was reimbursed for all costs associated with filming the documentary. Overall, the city got about $1,000 in profit, Marini said. 

PHOTO: Jodie MozdzerBut it wasn’t about the money, he said.

It is my hope that the film can attract some positive attention for Ansonia and the Armory,” Marini said. 

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