News

 

• The German HISTORY Channel is the first broadcaster outside the US to show the two-hour documentary “L.A. A Queer History” about the history of the LGBTQ movement in the US.
• The documentary highlights the largely unknown beginnings of the LGBTQ movement in Los Angeles in the first half of the 20th century and its further development up to the present day, when the US Supreme Court legalised same-sex marriage.
• “L.A. A Queer History” premieres outside the US on Friday, August 26th, 2022, at 8:15 pm on The HISTORY Channel Germany as part of the special stunt “A Day for Diversity and Justice”

LGBTQ rights are far from being a matter of course in many countries of the world, and in many places people are still discriminated because of their sexual orientation and identity. In some countries, lesbians and gays are criminalized and sometimes even face the death penalty. Thus, the fight for equal rights and against discrimination is still a topical issue with international social relevance, for which numerous people are campaigning.

The beginnings of the LGBTQ movement in the USA date back to the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, as the 120-minute documentary “L.A. A Queer History” (German title: “Queer History – Ein langer Weg zur Gleichberechtigung”) makes clear. The German HISTORY Channel is the first broadcaster to show the documentary outside the US. As part of the special stunt “A Day for Diversity and Justice” on Friday, August 26th, 2022 – the “Wear it Purple Day” – The HISTORY Channel will devote itself to the complex of topics of equality, diversity and justice. After the TV premiere of “L.A. A Queer History” at 8:15 pm, the documentaries “She The People: Votes For Women”, “Fight the Power: The Protests That Changed America” and “Black Wings – America's First Black Fighter Pilots" will also be shown.

In the documentary “L.A. A Queer History”, director and author Gregorio Davila traces in detail the history of the LGBTQ movement in Los Angeles in the 20th and 21st century. Most consider the NY Stonewall Riots of 1969 to be the birth of the Gay civil rights movement. But its beginnings go back even further and took place in Los Angeles. It was there, from the first half of the 20th century, that many people came, longing for a place where they had the freedom to be themselves. From the beloved male and female impersonators who graced the vaudeville stages of the early 1900’s, to the Queer designers and artists behind the scenes who made Hollywood the glamour capital of the world, to the wide spread mid-century criminalization of Gays and Lesbians and the brave ones who began to fight back resulting in groundbreaking L.A. based organizations which sparked the Gay civil rights movement across the country and the world. “L.A. A Queer History” tells this important part of American history through interviews with contemporary witnesses and experts, as well as partly rare film and photo material.

Among the numerous experts and contemporary witnesses who speak out in the documentary are the authors William J. Mann, Mark Thompson, Martin Turnbull, David Ehrenstein, Craig Loftin, Lillian Faderman, Marie Cartier, Chris Freeman, the former mayor of West Hollywood, John Duran, the founder of the Metropolitan Community Church, Troy Perry, the founder of the magazine “The Lesbian Tide”, Jeanne Córdova, activists Alexei Romanoff and Andre Ting, Los Angeles LGBT Center CEO Lorri Jean, teacher Jim James Tyler and teacher Andrea Segal, Bob Mizer Founding President Dennis Bell, and actor and author Steve Hayes. The original English-language version of the documentary also features US film star Steve Buscemi (“The Sopranos”, “Boardwalk Empire”) as narrator; he reads from letters that readers of the LGBT magazine “One”, which was first published in 1953, wrote to the editors. In German-speaking countries, The HISTORY Channel makes its program available in two-channel sound, so that depending on the reception platform, the English-language version of “L.A. A Queer History” is also available.

“L.A. A Queer History” was produced by L.A. Queer History Inc., 4Mat Factory Films and Film Bliss Studios. In addition to director and writer Gregorio Davila, executive producers Antony Haynes, Richard Xavier Corral and producer Mario J. Novoa were also involved. Carla Patullo was responsible for the music of the documentary. The world TV premiere took place in the US in mid-June.

“Our partnership with A+E and the rest of our international partners on this documentary further confirms our collective commitment to the positive advancement of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for all,” says Antony Haynes of 4Mat Factory Films/D.I.M.E.S. (Diversity In Media, Entertainment, Sport) about the TV premiere of the documentary in all territories outside the USA.

Further information on The HISTORY Channel Germany can be found at www.history.de, www.facebook.com/HISTORYdeutschland, www.instagram.com/history_de and www.youtube.com/historyde.