In 1945 World War II was drawing to a close, but in St. Louis, Missouri, something else was going on – something that was rarely talked about and which precious little evidence exists. Gay men were partying!
Footage from one such event has been rediscovered, and it’s now being incorporated into a documentary exploring how the footage came to be, the world it was filmed in, and what it was like to be gay back then. The footage was show at a pool party in St Louis in 1945, and was rediscovered at the estate sale of Buddy Walton. He was a well-known hairdresser, used to rubbing shoulders with celebrities and high-society.
The recordings were discovered by gay filmmaker Geoff Story at the estate sale back in 1996. While he knew he’d found something special, at the time he wasn’t sure what to do with it, so to protect the footage he put it into storage. More recently he started thinking that perhaps they could become the basis of a documentary, and so got te footage digitised. Talking to St. Louis Public Radio, he says of the footage, “These men are still in their 20s in the sun, swimming, like they always will. There’s a real sweet pain, and when you watch it, there’s a happiness but you can’t believe it’s so long ago and you can’t touch it—it’s gone.”
The film also hints towards how ephemeral the men’s freedom was, with some of the guys sporting wedding rings, while uniformed soldiers kiss one another. Of that moment, Story says, “There was such a beauty in that moment. I kind of couldn’t believe I was seeing it.”
He’s now teamed with fellow filmmaker Beth Prusaczyk, and together they’ve attempted to track down some of the men in the footage. So far they’ve managed to find some of their relative. Beth says, “We naively set out thinking, ‘Oh, these men might be in their mid-90s, they could still be alive,’ and that might be true. But I don’t know if we’ll actually find them.”
The duo are still looking for older people with knowledge of gay life in St. Louis in the 1940s to come forward to be part of the project. More info can be found over at the documentary’s website, gayhomemovie.com. You can take a look at a brief clip of the footage below. [Read more…]
The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has announced this year’s Oscar nominees. In most years that would help solidify which films were the absolute frontrunners, but this remains one of the most open Oscar races for years. Guillermo Del Toro’s excellent The Shape Of Water leads the pack with an impressive 13 nominations (one short of the record of 14 nominations shared by Titanic, All About Eve and La La Land). However, that doesn’t mean it’s a shoo-in for the big awards, as many feel the likes of Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay and the acting category are likely to go to other movies.
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Synopsis: ‘From a tender age, Scott Townsend’s life is ruled by his slippery gender. Growing up a girly-boy in the projects of Cambridge, MA, under the care of Doris, his dysfunctional single mom, Scott is prey to bullying and assault. Already a talented singer and performer, Scott grows up to be revered drag queen Thirsty Burlington and delights club-goers in Provincetown, MA with his spot-on impersonation of Cher. But even in this gay mecca, being Thirsty comes at a price. Inspired by events in Scott/Thirsty’s life, Thirsty is a true-life musical adventure as dramatic as it is entertaining.’
It’s not often a LGBT-themed short film gets a sequel, but filmmaker/actor Nick Neon is busy putting together a follow-up to his successful short, Ultra Bleu, which will follow more of the adventures of Jimmy Park. To help with post-production and film festival costs on that sequel – called Zero One – Nick has launched a 
Normally when a short film gets expanded into a movie, it’s the same director behind the camera. Interestingly though, with Sebastian it’s the short film’s writer and star, James Fanizza, who steps into the director’s shoes. Now the movie is heading towards its release.
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In mainstream movies, the only films that get gay lead characters tend to be prestige dramas that are attempting to get Oscars. However, Love Simon is something a bit special, as it’s a teen coming of age movie that’s getting a release by 20th Century Fox (and was made under their Fox 2000 banner), and happens to be about a young gay man.
