Celebrate Jose Sarria with SF GLBT Historical Society
| Joe Castel Discusses José Sarria Queer Culture Club Thursday, April 8 7:00–7:30 p.m. PDT Online program Free | $5 suggested donation |
| GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Terry Beswick will interview director, producer, screenwriter and playwright Joe Castel, whose body of work explores Latinx and LGBTQ history and identity. Castel will also discuss his newest documentary, Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of José Sarria (2020), which will be screened immediately following the interview (see the separate event listing). This is the April installment of “Queer Culture Club,” our monthly series each second Thursday that focuses on LGBTQ people who are defining the queer culture of yesterday, today and tomorrow. Each month, Beswick interviews queer culture-makers, including authors, playwrights, historians, activists, artists and archivists, to learn about their work, process, inspirations, hopes and dreams. Please note: the discussion and the film screening are ticketed as two separate events, so please register for each event if you wish to attend both. Register for the discussion online here. |
| Nelly Queen: The Life & Times of José Sarria Film Screening Thursday, April 8 8:00–9:30 p.m., PDT Online program Free | $5 suggested donation |
| Join us for a special screening of director, producer, screenwriter and playwright Joe Castel’s new documentary film Nelly Queen: The Life and Times of José Sarria (2020). An intimate look at an extraordinary man, the film documents Sarria’s life, starting with his performances at the North Beach establishment the Black Cat Café in the 1950s, to his historic run for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1961 (becoming the first openly gay person to run for political office anywhere), to his founding of the Imperial Court System in 1964. Alternating historical footage with bittersweet revelatory interviews, the film shows “how a marginalized outcast fought unjust laws and united an often fractured community by giving them a political and social identity,” as the Bay Area Reporter wrote in its review. The film is preceded at 7:00 by a discussion with Castel (see the separate event listing). Please note: the discussion and the film screening are ticketed as two separate events, so please register for each if you wish to attend both. Register for the film screening here. |