The filmmakers behind SMALL TOWN GAY BAR, BEAR NATION and FAT GIRLS turn their attention to the Continental Baths, which catered to NYC’s gay men in the aftermath of Stonewall.
The Continental Baths were a sign of newly won freedom and visibility, while at the same time a respite from continued homophobia and discrimination. They existed in the too-brief moment between Stonewall and AIDS, a time of hedonism but also of the embrace of gayness as a political and personal identity, alongside but not exclusively a sexual one. The Continental was part of this celebration, and is famous as the site of performances by now legendary gay-friendly performers like Bette Midler, known by some as “Bathhouse Betty,” who launched her career there. Director Malcolm Ingram and producer Ash Christian promise to explore the importance of this gay cultural landmark via archival and new material.
The project is currently in pre-production, with a Kickstarter campaign seeking $20,000 toward the initial costs of production, including travel to conduct key interviews with Continental Baths’ owner Steve Ostrow. With less than two weeks left, the filmmakers have raised nearly half their target.
The story of CONTINENTAL may seem like a piece of niche history – specifically urban dwelling gay male history – but its impact reaches beyond NYC. Bathhouses and bathhouse culture, decried in multiple gay metropolitan areas in response to the AIDS epidemic, are part of the complex history of modern sexuality in our culture, and bear a reconsideration as to their place in the definition and exploration of sexual identity and society’s attitudes toward sexual expression. Just as SMALL TOWN GAY BAR was able to encapsulate the importance of the titular establishment to its customers, I hope that CONTINENTAL can offer insight into the role the baths played for both gay men who suffered in the pre-Stonewall era, as well as those who came of age and out of the closet as a result of gay liberation.
what (not) to doc 