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Documentary filmmaker Jim de Sève explores the many issues behind the controversial topic of gay marriage in Tying the Knot, a film which also offers a look at how the legal and societal structures of marriage have changed with time. Tying the Knot focus on two cases of long-term gay couples whose passing led to legal squabbles between the members of their respective families over issues which would have been comparatively clear-cut if the couples had been able to legally marry. In addition, de Sève interviews activists on both sides of the issue of legally sanctioning same-sex unions, and looks backward at how changing laws regarding women's property rights and interracial marriage have created a precedent for rethinking the legal contract of marriage. Tying the Knot was screened at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival.