Gay Pioneers
Directed by Glen Holsten
USA, 2004, Beta SP, 30 minutes

Past Screening

SHOWTIMES:
SUNDAY
JANUARY 30, 2005
11:15AM
Main Art Theatre, Royal Oak

There will be a special meet and greet brunch with Frank Kameny of Gay Pioneers following these two films.

Gay Pioneers

Gay Pioneers takes us back to Philadelphia, July 4, 1965 and one of the first formal homosexual civil rights demonstrations in U.S. history. Ten well-groomed, well-mannered people carried signs in front of Independence Hall to call attention to homosexual oppression. These courageous men and women launched an ongoing yearly demonstration every July 4 from 1965-69. The story is told through archival footage, FBI reports, and interviews with surviving picketers including leaders Frank Kameny and Barbara Gittings. These and the others involved in the demonstrations were the first hairline cracks in the wall that would eventually come crashing down at Stonewall and since.

Gay Pioneers will be showing with the short film One Wedding and a Revolution, a story about pioneering activists Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, who were the first couple married by the state of California on February 12th, 2004.

Playing with Gay Pioneers :One Wedding and a Revolution!
Directed by Debra Chesnoff
USA, 2004, Beta SP, 19 minutes

Postshow Brunch at the Theater
Meet Frank Kameny and Malcolm Lazin, Executive Director of the Equality Forum, as you enjoy delectable food. Brunch begins immediately following the 11:15AM viewing of Gay Pioneers.

Frank Kameny is one of the “founding fathers” of the GLBT liberation movement. Featured in Gay Pioneers, Frank is also a member of the Triangle Foundation Board of Advisors. Since the 1950s, his incisive and agile courage has inspired and laid the foundation for new generations of activists. This opportunity to meet the man and thank him for his lifetime of commitment is rare and not to be missed.