Upstairs Inferno

On 24 June 1973 a fire broke out in New Orleans. The place that burned was a bar called the Up Stairs Lounge. It was a bar where gay men went. The fire had been set deliberately. Thirty two people died and fifteen were injured. The deaths came from the fire and the smoke. The documentary tells of that day and what followed. Survivors are among those who speak. Witnesses and officials of the time talk as well. Archival footage runs between them. What the film really looks at is the response of the city. The press barely reported the event at all. The district attorney’s office did not pursue an investigation. The person who set the fire was never brought to trial. Christopher Rice and Regina Adams speak in the ninety six minute documentary. It is an American production Robert L. Camina finished in 2015.