TLM Online and Roxie Virtual Cinema are pleased to present a live, digital screening of “Gay San Francisco”, a documentary film delving into the Tenderloin’s early queer movements during the ‘60s and ‘70s.
Created by filmmaker Jonathan Raymond, “Gay San Francisco” gives an unabashedly raw window into queer life decades ago. Restored from its original 16mm film and transferred to digital in a collaboration between Tenderloin Museum and California Preservation Program, this extended version features, among other new scenes, lesbian subject matter and a fetish “tickle sacrifice” scene.
A true mondo film with no shortage of pornographic material, “Gay San Francisco” tackles its gay and erotic themes with a respect and humor that was all but unheard of at the time of its shooting. This footage — along with scenes from San Francisco’s thriving LGBTQ culture, interviews with gay men and Trans women, and rare pieces from a Halloween drag show at the historic On The Levee gay bar — give a shockingly complete depiction of homosexual life in San Francisco, and more specifically, the Tenderloin, San Francisco’s first queer neighborhood.
“Gay San Francisco” was discovered by filmmakers Susan Stryker and Victor Silverman during research for their Emmy-winning documentary “Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton’s Cafeteria”, which includes footage from “Gay San Francisco.” The original 16mm film was generously provided to Stryker and Silverman by Ed Muckerman, cinematographer of “Gay San Francisco.”
This virtual screening is a collaboration between the Roxie Theater and the Tenderloin Museum. The event will feature an introduction by lauded historian and longtime Tenderloin Museum collaborator Susan Stryker, who will be joined by follow San Francisco queer history expert Kirk Frederick. Both Stryker and Frederick will participate in a Q&A after the film.
Free | Suggested donation of $10
The event is limited to 500 attendees.
All proceeds benefit the Roxie and the Tenderloin Museum, please give what you can.
The Roxie loves bringing you the best / coolest / weirdest / rarest / most thought-provoking movies of the past, present and future! We are passionate about serving the Bay Area’s community of film lovers, film organizations and filmmakers, to ignite and sustain a rich cinema culture that reflects our diverse city.
The Tenderloin Museum celebrates the rich history of one of San Francisco’s most
overlooked neighborhoods. Through history exhibitions, resident-led walking tours,
community programs, and the presentation of original artwork, the Tenderloin Museum
invites all comers to learn about the roots of our dynamic neighborhood, and reclaim our
city’s past and future.
Susan Stryker, a long-time San Francisco resident, is Professor Emerita of Gender and Women's Studies at University of Arizona and Barbara Lee Professor of Women's Leadership at Mills College as of July 1, 2020. She is co-director of the Emmy-winning film Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, co-author of Gay by the Bay: A History of Queer San Francisco, and co-founder of the academic journal TSQ: Transgender Studies Quarterly.
Kirk Frederick appeared with legendary female impressionist Charles Pierce in the San Francisco production of the groundbreaking gay play “Geese” in 1969-70, operated his own graphics/advertising agencies in the ’70s and ’80s, served as Mr. Pierce’s stage manager for 20 years, and authored “Write That Down! The Comedy of Male Actress Charles Pierce” in 2016. He is currently working on “The Gayest Generation,” a look at the people, places, and events of the ’70s that propelled the Gay Rights movement forward in San Francisco and Los Angeles, co-authored with Christopher Stone.