Lou - A San Francisco Fantasy

This movie grew out of a desire to make a film representing gay cruising pre-Rainbow flag and prior to the publication of Hal Fischer’s Gay Semiotics, which was essentially the key code - your keys and where you wore them represented who did what to whom, and how you were getting there. As I went through drafts it became evident that my piece was about a young trans man cruising in the Castro in that era, and in a flash it dawned on me that it was actually about Lou Sullivan, who was indeed cruising the Castro in that era. Extensive study of his archives and diaries informed the setting and script, and shooting took place on location in the Castro using an era-correct vehicle and a supporting cast of transmasculine actors. Lou’s life has never been dramatized, and he is an icon to many in the queer trans community. With the recent publication of his abridged diaries he is being brought back to life for so many of us, and as an older trans woman it was a blessing to be able to create a space for younger transmasculine people to be themselves and play who they very well may have been in that era, and as an activist and art maker it is always my goal to give people the gift of finding themselves within my work. The work this time found me, and I feel privileged to be able to have made that happen. Our crew is entirely trans, and I feel their work and presence helps to capture a moment in time that hasn’t truly been explored yet.