Cindy Abel
Filmmaker, speaker and writer Cindy Abel formed Atlantis Moon Productions to develop projects that launch conversations and impact popular culture. She directed and produced the award-winning Breaking Through, a documentary in which openly LGBT elected officials share their stories of self-doubt and triumph over multiple barriers ranging from race and poverty to gender and sexual orientation, revealing a deeply personal, rarely-seen side of politicians and gay people. As they share how they have come to live open and fulfilled lives, they bring hope to those from all walks of life who are struggling. [www.BreakingThroughMovie.com](http://www.BreakingThroughMovie.com). Breaking Through is available OnDemand (check local listings), iTunes, Amazon and DVD and continues to screen at festivals as well as at universities, conferences and companies. Abel's current film in production, Surviving The Silence: Love and Impossible Choices, tells the story of Colonel Patsy Thompson who presided over the board that dismissed Colonel Grethe Cammermeyer from the military for being a lesbian. (Col. Cammermeyer’s experience was told in her book Serving in Silence, made into a movie starring Glenn Close in 1995.) What was hidden from the public until a few months ago is that Col. Thompson is also a lesbian. And yet, Col. Cammermeyer considers her a hero. In addition to this surprising revelation and Col. Thompson’s heart-rending experience of presiding over the board, she and her wife of 30 years, Barbara Brass, bring to life the enduring impact of the anti-gay laws and attitudes and reveal how they made love last despite the burden of the required secrecy and personal differences. Abel previously served as co-chair of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, Vice-Chair of Atlanta Film Festival and Vice President of Communications of Women in Film & Television Atlanta.
