Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired North American rights to the historically potent LGBTQ documentary CHERRY GROVE STORIES,
which entertainingly recounts time in Cherry Grove including queer
origins, Tennessee Williams visits, decadent parties, sexual liberation,
HIV alienation and the continual swinging of indecent law
enforcement…all told through first person accounts and a treasure trove
of fabulous, unseen archival footage of the beloved haven.
Breaking
Glass acquired rights to the film in March in a deal negotiated between
Breaking Glass CEO Rich Wolff and writer/director Michael Fisher, CEO
of MYKNYC. The film will arrive on DVD & VOD on June 4 just in time for Pride Month.
CHERRY
GROVE STORIES held its world premiere at BFI Flare, and went on to
screen at a number of film festivals including the prestigious NewFest
Film Festival where it was considered one of “11 films you absolute ly
can’t miss” (NewNowNext), and the OUTshine Film Festival.
“Fisher’s
love and respect for his subject shines thru in this heartfelt story of
a small, but certainly legendary, section of Fire Island”, said Richard
Ross, Co-President of Breaking Glass. “As with all fine Documentaries,
the mystique and allure of the Island have been effectively captured in
this engaging look at a defining moment in time that is gone forever.”
In
an era when it was illegal for two men to hold hands in public, the
pristine beachfront hamlet of Cherry Grove on Fire Island, N.Y., was a
safe haven for gays who were often targeted for arrest and prosecution.
Through interviews with residents and new and archival footage, Michael
Fisher’s oral history of the enclave uncovers long-hidden secrets and
exposes little-known stories that are more relevant than ever today.
Fisher,
who has been going to Cherry Grove for 32 years, was inspired to make
the film by long-time resident Michael Delisio. “Michael was one of the
first men to go to Cherry Grove in the 1950s,” Fisher says. “He is a
great storyteller, and his tales of the early days of Cherry Grove
inspired me to capture the many anecdotes about the community before all
the old timers are gone.”
In
Cherry Grove Stories, residents recount the history of the hamlet,
starting in the 1940s when gay men first began congregating in a place
that offered a rare refuge from the pervasive homophobia of the time. They
tell many funny, even outrageous tales: the first drag parties, when
attendees had to hide their dresses and heels under the floorboards of
their hosts’ house for fear of being arrested for wearing women’s
clothes; escapades in the infamous Meat Rack, and how some escaped
police raids by hiding in the bay; and the first drag flotilla on the
Fourth of July in 1976, when drag queens “invaded” the nearby Pines.
Fisher
believes the current anti-LGBT climate makes Cherry Grove Stories more
important than ever. “Men were still being arrested in the Meat Rack in
the 1970s, which is not that long ago, and there has been heightened
harassment there today,” he points out.
More
than ever before, most of LGBTQ Coloradans – 95% – have health
insurance, yet one in five people have been denied care by a provider
for being LGBTQ.