Coming to theatres this Friday, May 30: BEFORE YOU KNOW IT
PJ Raval’s affecting portrait of gays growing older debuted at SXSW last year. Its fest circuit has included IFF Boston, San Francisco, Edinburgh, Lone Star, Cucalorus, Cleveland, Florida, and several LGBT fests, including Inside Out, Outfest, Image Out, Reeling, Image + Nation, and Polari.
Noting the particular challenges often faced by LGBT seniors – which can include isolation, a return to the closet within homophobic nursing home facilities, and lack of access to relevant social and health services – Raval set out to share the stories of three elders. Dennis came out only after he became a widower, but not to his family, feeling comfortable expressing his true self only in the controlled environments of an LGBT retirement home or on a gay cruise; Ty is an advocate for LGBT seniors, and faces a big decision when New York State legalizes gay marriage; and Robert, the owner of a gay bar, faces health problems that exacerbate his financial and legal struggles to keep his business open. Sometimes bittersweet, their experiences speak to a certain generation of gay men who grew up in a far less open and accepting society, but also to a more universal reckoning with age, health, mortality, and regret – factors that we all too often try to ignore or avoid.
what (not) to doc 