Coming to DVD today, February 14: THE SONS OF TENNESSEE WILLIAMS
Tim Wolff’s exploration of the relationship between New Orleans’ gay community and Mardi Gras premiered at Frameline in 2010. First Run Features released the film theatrically this past Fall.
In the decades when gay men could not live openly and risked arrest and public censure if they congregated in bars, New Orleans’ many Mardi Gras parades provided temporary safe haven. The city’s homosexuals could don parade drag and celebrate semi-openly. Over time, as Wolff’s doc shows, these men banded together in “krewes” to organize what became a network of drag balls for the festivities, a practice that continued after gay liberation allowed for more openness. Using remarkable archival footage and interviews, the film paints a vivid picture of New Orleans’ past, while simultaneously displaying modern-day efforts to keep the tradition alive post-Katrina.
what (not) to doc 