Last night I went along to GAZE (Lesbian and Gay Film Festival) to see a documentary called Stonewall Uprising. The tag line reads On June 28th 1969 Everything Changed and I think that pretty much sums it up. When you look back on gay history there have been many watershed moments and inspiring individuals who stood up to be counted, but few have resonated with us like the Stonewall riots.  It is a moment in our history that began what we think of when we say gay rights movement and the courage it took for those involved to stand up and say ‘no more’ is inspiring.

This film does what it says on the tin, it is an 82 min look into the 1969 riots that took place at a New York bar called the Stonewall Inn.  I visited this Inn a few months ago and as I sat there having my beer I was struck with the sense of history, this is a place that gave birth to a world where I can be who I am in a way I could not before the riots.

This was a time before mobile phones with video cameras and YouTube so there is not much actual footage of the riots so the film makers rely on photos and dramatisations.  The most powerful aspect is the many interviews with people who took part . Directors Kate Davis and David Heilbroner do a wonderful job of pulling everything together.  They first bring you into a certain time in history and allow you to be absorbed by what our community was up against.  This part of the film does go on a little longer than I would have liked but it is vital to show people why the events of June 1969 are so pivotal.  Gay pubs and clubs were frequently raided by police and people dragged off in paddy wagons, sometimes with their name and even address published in the local newspaper.  To be branded gay was to have your ability to gain/keep employment decreased and to have your whole future threatened.

The film then goes on to show exactly what happened on that famous night and what the aftermath was.  It was arguably the first time a group of gay people stood up to the authorities and said ‘enough’ and it changed something forever, for the first time gay people were not alone, they could see that they had brothers and sisters in a community that was worth something.  The interviews with people who were there are amazing and while they make you laugh you find yourself sitting there hoping that if you were in that situation you too would stand up.

Every year the Stonewall riots are commemorated around the world in Pride parades, parades in which we stand together to remember the courage of those who have gone before us and to motivate ourselves and each others to push forward for full equal rights.

The wonderful Lighthouse cinema was packed to bursting last night and that is a testament to our pride in our history, a history that we are still writing today.

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