AWARDS NIGHT Sunday, July 21, 7:30 pm THE COCKETTES DIR: BILL WEBER & DAVID WEISSMAN, 2002, USA, 35MM, 100 MIN. It was New Year’s Eve 1969, the dawn of a new era and the birth of the glamorous, glorious, glittering Cockettes! A gaggle of gender-bending hippies decked out in flamboyant costumes took the stage at San Francisco’s Palace Theatre and made history. They performed an outrageously campy chorus-line rendition of “Honky Tonk Woman” and became an instant sensation. Driven by an abundance of creative energy and a healthy dose of LSD, the Cockettes produced 20 shows in three years with titles such as “Tinsel Tarts in Hot Coma” and “Journey to the Center of Uranus” featuring soon-to-be-discovered drag icon Divine and disco diva Sylvester. This impulse gave way to a national phenomenon that influenced not only drag and queer culture as we know it today, but glitter rock stars David Bowie and Elton John. THE COCKETTES is an exceptionally well-crafted snapshot of a community and a celebration of sexual liberation, creative freedom and all-around fabulousness! Directors Bill Weber and David Weissman have unearthed a gold mine of vintage footage, as well as filming their own rich assortment of testimonials from living Cockettes and those who experienced the shows first-hand, including an insightful interview with John Waters. The directors have lovingly woven together the old and the new to capture the brief but resplendent life of the legendary performance troupe and the unyielding spirit of an era. - Kirsten Schaffer, Senior Programmer PLUS SHORT: SING-ALONG SAN FRANCISCO DIR: GEORGINA CORZINE, 2002, U.S.A., 35MM, SUBTITLED, 4 MIN. 8th ANNUAL OUTFEST FILM COMPETITION MASTER OF CEREMONIES:BRUCE VILANCH sponsored by:
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