Before Stonewall: The Making of a Gay and Lesbian Community

Recently revived in a remastered version at the Berlin International Film Festival, Before Stonewall traces the rise of queer consciousness in America preceding the Stonewall Rebellion.  Chronicling the formation of urban gay enclaves, connections between servicemen and women in wartime, and early queer political organizations, rich with archival resources (some originally sourced from UCLA), and featuring commentary by luminaries including Audre Lorde, Harry Hay and Allen Ginsberg, the film depicts modern LGBT history as a an epic story of sweep and grandeur. 

DCP, color, 86 min.  Producer: Robert Rosenberg, Greta Schiller, John Scagliotti.  Director: Greta Schiller.  Co-Director: Robert Rosenberg.  Cinematographer: Jan Kraepelin, Sandi Sissel, Cathy Zheutlin.  Editor: Bill Daughton.  Cast: Rita Mae Brown (narrator), Evelyn Hooker, Richard Bruce Nugent, Martin Duberman, Jim Kepner.

Watch the conversation with Robert Rosenberg and Greta Schiller, moderated by former UCLA Film & Television Archive programmer Shannon Kelley: