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Esther Newton Made Me Gay (2022)
Directed by Jean Carlomusto
Documentary · 1h 32m
Esther Newton was drawn to the drag scene as a student in the 1950s. Identifying as both butch lesbian and between genders, she felt a kinship with the queens; what the feminine clothing society expected her to wear felt like a form of drag. Her 1972 book ‘Mother Camp: Female Impersonators in America’ is noted as the first rigorous study of its kind. Now entering her sixth decade writing about queer communities, Newton exudes wisdom and a healthy dose of New York no-nonsense. The film’s amazing archive footage encompasses gay liberation, the feminist sex wars, AIDS activism and life on the safe haven of Fire Island. Her other main passion is dog training, so this illuminating history lesson is peppered with poodles!
Cast
Crew
- Director
- Jean Carlomusto
- Writer
- Jean Carlomusto
- Director of Photography
- Alex Rappoport, Jean Carlomusto, David Sampliner
- Original Music Composer
- Gil Talmi
- Editor
- Jean Carlomusto
- Producer
- Jean Carlomusto, Shanti Avirgan
Details
- Release date
- 2022-03-17
- Runtime
- 1h 32m
- Genres
- Documentary
- Original language
- EN
- Spoken languages
- English
- Production
- Konsonant, Chroma Center, Cresting Moon Productions, The Film Collaborative, NYC Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment