This film is part of Rentals
Before Stonewall
Documenting the testimonies from those who dared to challenge the world and helped create the modern gay community.
Documentary 1984 84 mins
Director: Greta Schiller
Overview
Conventional wisdom posits the beginning of the gay liberation movement from the riots at the Stonewall Inn in New York, however this film shows just how much activism and creativity had been going on before 1969. A dazzling line-up of interviewees includes poets, writers, political organisers, dancers and actors bear witness to a life before Stonewall, including Allen Ginsberg, Audre Lorde, Barbara Gittings, Harry Hay, Ann Bannon and many more. The courage and bravery of those who dared to challenge the world has helped create the modern gay community. This is also a work of extraordinary archival research, finding footage which showed the undeniable existence of gay men and lesbians throughout the 20th century. Essential viewing for anyone who wants to get a sense of our history.
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