Gay USA

Arthur J. Bressan Jr.'s 1977 documentary records the marches held in America in June of that year. The crew filmed in several cities on the same day, and the result is a nationwide image of a single day. The method is talking in the street. Marchers are asked why they are there; lesbian feminists, drag performers, elderly couples and supportive heterosexuals speak in the same film and none speaks for another. That year a campaign was being run against gay rights and the marches grew in answer to it; the documentary gives that context directly. Archive footage is used alongside the record of the day. Who it's for: those interested in the history of the queer movement and seventies documentary. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a structured narrative; the film consists of interviews arranged in sequence.