Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community is a 1984 American documentary film about the LGBT community prior to the 1969 Stonewall riots. It was narrated by author Rita Mae Brown, directed by Greta Schiller, co-directed by Robert Rosenberg, and co-produced by John Scagliotti and Rosenberg, and Schiller. It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985. In 1999, producer Scagliotti directed a companion piece, After Stonewall. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Teddy Awards, the film was shown at the 66th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2016.[1] To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, the film was restored and re-released by First Run Features in June 2019.[2][3] Later in 2019, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".[4][5][6]
| Before Stonewall | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Greta Schiller Robert Rosenberg |
| Produced by | John Scagliotti Robert Rosenberg Greta Schiller |
| Narrated by | Rita Mae Brown |
| Cinematography | Jan Kraepelin Sandi Sissel Cathy Zheutlin |
| Edited by | Bill Daughton |
| Distributed by | First Run Features |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
People featured
edit- Ann Bannon
- Lisa Ben
- Gladys Bentley
- Ivy Bottini
- George Buse
- Carroll Davis
- Martin Duberman
- Allen Ginsberg
- Barbara Gittings
- Barbara Grier
- Mabel Hampton
- Harry Hay
- Dorothy "Smilie" Hillaire
- Evelyn Hooker
- Red Jordan Arobateau
- Frank Kameny
- Jim Kepner
- Audre Lorde
- Bruce Nugent
- Nell "Johnnie" Phelps
- Craig Rodwell
- José Sarria
Awards
editBefore Stonewall was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival. It won the Best Film Award at the Houston International Film Festival, Best Documentary Feature at Filmex, First Place at the National Educational Film Festival, and Honorable Mention at the Global Village Documentary Festival.[7] In 1987, the film won Emmy Awards for Best Historical/Cultural Program and Best Research.[7] In 1989, it won the Festival's Plate at the Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
See also
edit- After Stonewall, the 1999 sequel film about the 30 years of gay rights activism since 1969
- The Times of Harvey Milk, the 1984 Oscar-winning documentary about the late San Francisco politician Harvey Milk
- Stonewall, 2015 film by Roland Emmerich
- 1984 in film
References
edit- ^ "Berlinale 2016: Panorama Celebrates Teddy Award's 30th Anniversary and Announces First Titles in Programme". Berlinale. Archived from the original on December 21, 2015. Retrieved December 20, 2015.
- ^ McCaulay, Marci; Bartlett, Robin (June 21, 2019). "Greta Schiller: Before Stonewall". Directed By Women. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ Schiller, Greta (June 19, 2019). "Guest Post: What I Learned From Revisiting My 1984 Documentary 'Before Stonewall'". Women And Hollywood. Retrieved October 16, 2019.
- ^ Chow, Andrew R. (December 11, 2019). "See the 25 New Additions to the National Film Registry, From Purple Rain to Clerks". Time. New York, NY. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
- ^ "Women Rule 2019 National Film Registry". Library of Congress. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". Library of Congress. Retrieved September 17, 2020.
- ^ a b "Before Stonewall - Independent Historical Film". Jezebel Productions. Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. Retrieved February 9, 2008.
External links
edit- Before Stonewall - Trailer (First Run official YouTube channel)
- Before Stonewall - Trailer (First Run official Vimeo channel)
- Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community (Newly Restored) (First Run: official distributor)
- Before Stonewall at IMDb
- Before Stonewall at AllMovie
- Before Stonewall at the TCM Movie Database