Lesbian Flick 'Liberty's Secret' is Released, Available on Demand

The lesbian movie-musical "Liberty's Secret" has finally been released, and after playing several queer film festivals in Germany and the Ojai film festival in California, it is now available on�Amazon Instant Video�in the U.S. and�VimeoOnDemand�worldwide.�

The film is both a lesbian love story and a timely political satire. In "Liberty's Secret," the singing/dancing daughter of a "family values" preacher becomes the symbolic centerpiece of a conservative political campaign. �But when she falls in love with a woman, she must choose between the life she's known, and the love she's always dreamed of. �

"Though I started working on the film long before the age of Trump, I believe the film's message of inclusion and equality is particularly relevant now," said composer/writer/director Andy Kirshner.

Nikki (Cara AnnMarie) is a jaded politician's assistant when she meets Liberty (Jaclene Wilk), a preacher's daughter with golden pipes. Liberty joins them on the campaign trail as a poultice for the ailing politico Kenny Weston's career. Her upstanding "American" singing and innocence hearkens back to an earlier era, and her presence on the campaign trail has the politician bouncing back in the polls. But this milk-fed preacher's daughter isn't as dumb as she looks.

When ing�nue Liberty falls in love with her (female) spin-doctor, the result is a political catastrophe. A video of the two kissing goes viral, and a confused Liberty must choose between the life she knows, and the love she's always dreamed of -- while all of America watches.

"In many ways, 'Liberty's Secret' is a traditional movie-musical.�It has singing and tap-dancing, a jazz-based score, and it ends happily.�But in other ways -- especially in its political theme and the centrality of the lesbian romance -- it's very untraditional," said Kirshner. "I wanted to make a positive film for the whole queer community, but especially for lesbians and bisexual women, since there are so few lesbian films with happy endings, let alone musicals.�I also hope our movie can offer a little counter-balance to all the hate, divisiveness, and lying that seems so rife in our country at the moment."

The movie is regularly punctuated by musical numbers, and even features the occasional soft-shoe. As Nikki ferries Liberty around to parades, rodeos, NASCAR, and countless rallies, she begins to fall for the girl. She schools Liberty on how to pivot and deflect tough questions from the press, and in time, pivots right into her heart. The two try to keep it friendly, but feelings develop. Unfortunately for young love, their first kiss is caught on a passing woman's iPhone.

"Kissgate" ensues, and the conservative politician's campaign implodes. Liberty is pissed at Nikki, even though she says "I love you." She says that real love is giving up your own life for someone else. Nikki says, no, that's codependence.

Liberty leaves for the gay conversion therapy camp that her preacher father sends her to, saying, "With all these gay men, you know they'll have a great glee club." Cut to the camp leader, who's fey as hell, but thinks he's super butch. You'll chuckle to hear them sing their tango, "Girls Like Boys," with its long stereotypical laundry list of things girls like, like puppies and going to the mall, and things that boys like, including punching noses and drinking with their friends.

Luckily, Nikki's coworker Yolanda talks to the preacher, telling him about her own preacher father and how he caught her brother, who was an amazing singer, with another boy. "I don't want no candy-ass faggot for my child," he says, forcing the boy to move to the city, where he never sings again, and meets an early grave. Don't let your daughter end up like this, Yolanda warns.

There's an obligatory song and dance number here, about the kind of God who would make you feel ashamed, or hate you for your nature. Oddly, the refrain is all about how "Jesus is an atheist, and so am I," because "how can love be wrong, and how can hate be right?"

Eventually Liberty leans in to her feelings for Nikki, and America similarly embraces their love. Meanwhile, the politician is back to losing in the polls. The two women get married amidst singing, which seems an extreme outcome for people who just met, but at least, for a change, the lesbians don't end up dead at the end.

If you're in the market for a cute, musical-style lesbian love story, the secret's out: "Liberty's Secret" is what you're looking for.

To watch the movie, visit Amazon Instant Video or Vimeo.