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Synopsis

Gay Rights Activist, Friend, Lover, Unifer, Politician, Fighter, Icon, Inspiration, Hero. His life changed history and his courage changed lives.

Harvey Milk was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977, becoming the first openly gay man to be voted into major public office in America. His victory was not just a victory for gay rights; he forged coalitions across the political spectrum. He pushed the minds of senior citizens to union workers and changed the very nature of what it means to be a fighter for human rights before his untimely death at the hands of a Senator. The film stars Sean Penn at Harvey Milk and Academy award nominee Gus Van Sant. The script for the film is written by Dustin Lance Black, and is produced by Dan Jinks and Bruce Cohen.

Milk chronicles the last 8 years of Harvey’s life. While living in New York city, he turns 40. He begins to look for more purpose and relocates with his lover Scott Smith played by James Franco, where they found a small business, Castro Camera, in the heart of a working class neighborhood that was soon to become a haven for gay people from around the country. Now with a new found energy from the city he suddenly sees himself as an outspoken agent for change. He seeks equal rights and opportunities for all, and his great love for the city and its people brings him backing from young old, straight and gay alike – at a time when prejudice and violence against gays was openly accepted as the norm.

With good support from Scott and some new friends he meets along the way, Milk plunges headfirst into the choppy waters of politics. He also mentors young street activists like Cleve Jones. This catapults his public profile with humor, Milk’s action speak even louder than his gift of gab words. But the campaign sort of pushed his lover Scott apart. He takes a new lover played by Diego Luna to run for a fourth time for public office.

The final campaign turns into a success, as Milk is elected supervisor for the newly zoned District 5. Milk serves San Francisco well while lobbying for a citywide ordinance protecting people from being fired because of their orientation – and rallying support against a proposed statewide referendum to fire gay schoolteachers and their supporters; he realizes that this fight against Proposition 6 represents a pivotal precipice for the gay rights movement. At the same time, the political agendas of Milk and those of another newly elected supervisor, Dan White (Josh Brolin), increasingly diverge and their personal destinies tragically converge. Milk’s platform was and is one of hope – a hero’s legacy that resonates in the here and now.

Milk will get a limited release on November 26 th 2008, expanding wider in December.

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