Sylvester

Born underground, on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement and the Stonewall Riots, disco’s nascent popularity saw the spectacular takeover of the dancefloor, the airwaves and burgeoning fashion trends that reflected the joy and freedom inherent to the genre. Co-opted and exploited through references like John Travolta’s strut and shiny Swedish tracksuits, disco eventually reaches the mainstream, losing its original flair and purpose rooted in radical politics and social change.

Sebastian (b. Milton Miron), a 90-year-old accountant and tax preparer in Los Angeles, reflects on his pursuit of a creative life as an underground filmmaker and impresario during San Francisco's counter-cultural heyday.

In partnership with filmmaker Lauren Tabak and writer/consulting producer Barry Walters, we dive into the music career of Sylvester, starting from church choir in South Central LA to his early years in San Francisco. It follows his ascent to stardom through his evergreen, international hits "Dance (Disco Heat)" and "You Make Me Feel (Mighty Real)". Through his groundbreaking career, Sylvester blew open the doors for queer visibility and gender fluidity in mainstream music, leaving a legacy that continues to influence today's pop music.

A documentary profile on Rumi Missabu, the iconoclast cofounder of San Francisco's infamous Cockettes. Through archive footage, animation and new interviews with stars from SF's queer art past, his lurid tales in and out of the spotlight are revealed as he reinvents himself at the end of his life.

Documentary about the gender-bending San Francisco performance group who became a pop culture phenomenon in the early 1970s.

A short documentary about the Disco legend Sylvester. Sylvester James began as a child gospel singer and sashayed past barriers of race and sexual identity to become the definitive anthemist of disco and dance soul. With a vibrant falsetto and genderbending persona, he redefined what it means - on stage and in life - to be "mighty real." This documentary will restore to the spotlight a pivotal performer whose music defined an era and whose influence is still felt by dozens of current vocalists.

The evolution of disco music through interviews and clips - Acid House, House, Disco, Funk, Italo-Disco, Italodance. Interviewed – Baby Ford, Deee-Lite, Frankie Knuckles, Mark Moore, Mel Cheren Featuring 5000 Volts, Amii Stewart, Anita Ward, Baby Ford, Bananarama, Black Box, Cerrone, Communards, The, Deee-Lite, Donna Summer, Eartha Kitt, Edwin Starr, Evelyn Champagne King, Evelyn Thomas, Farm, The, Giorgio Moroder, Gloria Gaynor, Hot Gossip, Hues Corporation, Isaac Hayes, Kool And The Gang, Kylie Minogue, M, Michael Zager, Miguel Brown, Musique, New Order, Odyssey, S'Express, Shannon, Shirley & Co, Sylvester, Three Degrees, Trammps, Van Mccoy, Village People

This is a first installment of a soap opera showing the Castro as a Gothic, sleazy neighborhood where danger and duplicity lurk. Assorted characters include the innocent new boy in town, a streetwise detective, a pair of lesbian astronauts, a bitchy male couple, and an alcoholic landlord.

Rock-and-roll singer Mary Rose Foster's romantic relationships and mental health are continuously imperilled by the demands of life on the road.

The world-famous Cockettes enact Tricia Nixon's wedding to Edward Cox on June 11, 1971. Hurtme O. Hurtme, television correspondent, covers the wedding and interviews celebrities in attendance such as Golda Meir, Indira Gandhi, Jacqueline Onassis, Queen Elizabeth, and Elizabeth Taylor. Coretta King sings. During the reception, Eartha Kitt puts LSD in the punch. All hell breaks loose.

Palace, the only known film made during an actual Cockettes performance, documents the backstage and onstage goings-on at the group’s only Halloween show, Les Ghouls.