In celebration of our 20th anniversary season, Lesbian Looks is delighted to welcome filmmakers Greta Schiller and Andrea Weiss to present a special screening of this groundbreaking, classic documentary. In 1969 the patrons of the Stonewall Inn in New York City’s Greenwich Village decided to fight back, transforming a routine police raid into three nights of rioting which marked the beginning of the Gay Liberation movement.
Before Stonewall examines the historical background to this sudden burst of political energy — from the social experimentation of the Roaring Twenties, to the discovery of the true size of this hidden society during World War II, to the scapegoating of homosexuals during the McCarthy era, to the development of the early homophile rights movement — providing an informative and engaging portrait of the history of homosexual experience in America. Using filmed recollections and a wealth of archival material Before Stonewall traces the social, political, and cultural development of the gay and lesbian community. Narrated by Rita Mae Brown.
“You owe it to yourself to see it. Laced with humor and irony… of vital interest to everyone.”
—Judith Crist, TV Guide
"An absorbing, shocking, revealing, humorous and thoroughly compassionate documentary.”
—San Francisco Examiner
“I can’t praise Before Stonewall too highly. It’s a fascinating document. It’s worth watching over and over again.”
—Stage and Screen (London)
“Funny, sad, courageous and touching!”
—Seattle Times
“Entertaining and enlightening!"
—Los Angeles Times