‘Before Stonewall’ Tracks the Pre-Movement Era

Long before marriage equality, non-binary gender identity, and the flood of new documentaries commemorating this month’s 50th anniversary of the Greenwich Village uprising that begat the gay rights movement, there was Greta Schiller’s Before Stonewall. Originally released in 1984 —as AIDS was slowly killing off many of those bar patrons-turned-revolutionaries — the film, through the use of evocative archival footage, presents a remarkable portrait of queer life in the closeted time from the early 20th century right up until that fateful night in 1969.

To discuss this engaging history lesson-turned-lively time capsule — made all the more meaningful through first-person accounts from elderly lesbians and gays who survived both World War II and the war on their true selves — Documentary caught up via phone with the award-winning director, who personally supervised the 16mm restoration process of the film that opens June 28 in Los Angeles through First Run Features, following its June 21st premiere in New York City.

To read the interview visit Documentary magazine.