For the Love of Friends
Friday, June 2
In 1986, to awaken America to the AIDS crisis and to honor the friends he lost, actor/playwright Brent Nicholson Earle runs the perimeter of the United States. In The American Run for the End of AIDS, Brent runs a marathon a day for 20 months, with his mother and a Winnebago driving behind him. In 2020, he stars in a play about his life. Though the run finishes, Brent’s fight never stops.
American Masters: Little Richard: King and Queen of Rock and Roll
Saturday, June 3
Experience the meteoric rise and enduring legacy of Little Richard. This portrait of the “King and Queen of Rock and Roll” explores his far-reaching influence as well as his advocacy for the rights of Black artists in the music industry.
Independent Lens: Mama Bears
Wednesday, June 21
They call one another “mama bears” because of the ferocity with which they fight for their children’s rights. Although they grew up as fundamentalist, evangelical Christians praying for the souls of LGTBQ people, these mothers are now willing to risk losing friends, family, and faith communities to champion their kids—even if it challenges their belief systems and rips apart their worlds.
Aging Matters: Aging with Pride
Thursday, June 22
LGBTQIA elders face unique social, economic, and health challenges. Organizations and individuals across the country are working to address issues such as discrimination and loneliness. AGING MATTERS: AGING WITH PRIDE sheds light on what many in the Stonewall Generation have had to endure and fight for in the hopes of enacting positive change for the community in the ongoing pursuit of equality.
UNIDAD: Gay & Lesbian Latinos Unidos
Friday, June 23
Gay and Lesbian Latinos Unidos (GLLU) was founded in 1981, only a dozen years after the Stonewall rebellion and only a couple of years before the HIV/AIDS pandemic began to ravage LGBTQ communities. GLLU was the greater Los Angeles area’s first major Queer Latin@ organization, and the film chronicles events surrounding GLLU at a pivotal time in the history of LGBTQ equality, women’s rights, and civil rights movements that shaped the destinies of GLLU’s communities for decades to come.
Dear Ike: Lost Letters to a Teen Idol
Friday, June 23
A young boy with fantasies of one day making animated movies with his teen idol (1970s Disney star, Ike Eisenmann) follows that dream on what turns out to be an incredible 40-year odyssey.
A Monk Who Wears Heels
Sunday, June 25
Kodo Nishimura is a Buddhist monk, makeup artist and LGBTQ activist. At first glance, these three facets of his identity may seem entirely separate. The common thread running through them, however, is a desire to live life as the person he most wants to be. Through six months of close coverage, A MONK WHO WEARS HEELS amplifies Kodo’s concern for those who struggle with their identity and his empowering message to be true to who you are.
In the Night I Remember Your Name
Thursday, June 29
Joy. Loss. Doubt. Faith. “In the Night I Remember Your Name” is a daughter’s chronicle of her mother’s struggle with Alzheimer’s. It is the story of a grandmother’s grief as she begins losing the very abilities that her new granddaughter is learning. It is the story of a pastor’s relationship with God as she questions what is happening to her. It is a journey from anguish to acceptance. And in the end, it is a story of joy.
Feelings Are Facts: The Life of Yvonne Rainer
Friday, June 30
At 25, she took her first dance class. At 28, she changed dance forever. FEELINGS ARE FACTS: THE LIFE OF YVONNE RAINER provides a front row seat to the founding of postmodern dance in America in 1962 and the woman who was at its center.
American Experience: Casa Susanna
Friday, June 30
Visit the Catskills hideaway where, in the 1950s and 60s, an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men found refuge. A moving look inside a secret world where the persecuted found freedom and acceptance.