Past screening

P.S. Burn This Letter Please

Directed by: Michael Seligman, Jennifer Tiexiera
Runtime: 1hr 40min Year: 2020
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Details

Directed by: Michael Seligman, Jennifer Tiexiera
Runtime: 1hr 40min Year: 2020
Country: United States
Topics: History & Archive
Last Screened: Wed 23rd Feb 2022

A box of long-forgotten letters, written nearly 60 years ago by a group of New York City drag queens, ignites this glorious exploration of a part of LGBT+ history that has never been told.

The letters, written in the 1950s, open a window into a forgotten world where being yourself meant breaking the law, and where the penalties for ‘masquerading’ as a woman were swift and severe.

Taking these evocative letters as a jumping off point, directors Michael Seligman, Jennifer Tiexiera explore a courageous and close-knit community, as the former drag queens – now in their 80s and 90s – reveal how they survived and somehow flourished.

The government sought to destroy them, then history tried to erase them, now they get to tell their story for the first time.