Arthur Bressan Jr.
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“A Generation of Artists Were Lost”: Roe Bressan and Jenni Olson on the Newly Restored Gay USA
Filmed over one continuous 1977 day at Pride parades across San Francisco, Chicago, New York, San Diego and other metropolises, Arthur Bressan Jr.’s Gay USA is a tapestry of anecdotes, embraces, misconceptions and confused onlookers. It not only captures the optimism and palpable ecstasy of the LGBT attendees of Pride ‘77, but uses the homophobic agenda of Anita Bryant in Dade County, Floridato provide political context as to why these happy men, women and non-binary folks galavanting along Castro Street and Greenwich Village still had very much at stake. Many of Bressan’s films outlined the political reality of being gay […]
by Natalia Keogan on Jun 25, 2019 -
Buddies, Bound and First Reformed: Jim Hemphill’s Weekend Blu-ray Recommendations
One year before the release of Parting Glances and four before Longtime Companion, Arthur Bressan Jr. wrote, produced, directed and edited Buddies (1985), one of the first narrative feature films to put AIDS front and center as a subject. It might be the first, but the television movie An Early Frost aired at around the same time, and in any case, I’ve learned not to make claims for anything being the absolute first when it comes to film history since there are inevitably obscurities that elude even a guy like me who spends every waking hour watching and thinking about […]
by Jim Hemphill on Aug 24, 2018
