Gay Pioneers, directed by Glenn Holsten

Holsten, Glenn (Director/Producer). (2004). Gay Pioneers. United States: WHYY, Equity Forum. 30 minutes.

From the film's Web site:

... Gay Pioneers is a 30-minute documentary chronicling the first organized gay and lesbian civil rights demonstrations. These "Annual Reminders" took place in front of Independence Hall each Fourth of July from 1965 to 1969, paving the way for the Stonewall Uprising and the New York Pride Parade.

Available from SFUSD School Health Services. Not available at the SF Public Library. Available for purchase for $100. Teaching guide available online.

Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria, directed by Victor Silverman and Susan Stryker

Silverman, Victor, & Stryker, Susan. (Directors). (2005). Screaming Queens: The Riot at Compton's Cafeteria. United States: Independent Television Service, KQED, Frameline. 57 minutes.

Erik has a copy. Also available at the SF Public Library. From the catalog description: "Screaming Queens tells the little-known story of the first known act of collective, violent resistance to the social oppression of queer people in the United States — a 1966 riot in San Francisco's impoverished Tenderloin neighborhood, three years before the famous gay riot at New York's Stonewall Inn."

Straightlaced: How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up, directed by Debra Chasnoff and Sue Chen

Chasnoff, Debra, & Chen, Sue (Directors). (2009). Straightlaced: How Gender's Got Us All Tied Up. United States: GroundSpark. 67 minutes.


From the production company's Web site

Filmed in the same intimate style as That’s a Family! and Let’s Get Real, the heart of Straightlaced is candid interviews with more than 50 teens from diverse backgrounds.

With a fearless look at a highly charged subject, Straightlaced unearths how popular pressures around gender and sexuality are confining American teens. Their stories reflect a diversity of experiences, demonstrating how gender role expectations and homophobia are interwoven, and illustrating the different ways that these expectations connect with culture, race and class.

Not yet available at SF Public Library. Can purchase for $100 from New Day Films. Study guide being developed.

A Jihad for Love, directed by Parvez Sharma

Sharma, Parvez (Director). (2007). A Jihad for Love [Documentary film]. United States: First Run Features. 81 minutes.

Available in DVD or streaming format from Netflix. The Netflix summary:

Documenting the quandary of gay Muslims via the perspective of subjects from countries such as India, Iran and Turkey, director Parvez Sharma chronicles their struggles to square their sexual orientation with their faith, which forbids homosexuality. Relating their compelling tales to the camera, the subjects (most expatriates) cling to their Islamic ideals in the face of a sharia interpretation that imposes the death penalty for homosexual acts.

Winner of the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary, 2009. Available for purchase from First Run Features.