A House is Not a Disco, dir. Brian J. Smith, 2024 USA, 91 min. 👍
Saturday, June 29, 2024, 6:30 PM, Herbst Theatre
plus Digital Screening Room streaming encore (within California only)
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| A House is Not a Disco |
Filmmaker
Brian J. Smith is best known on camera for
Sense8 and
The Matrix Resurrections, but also appears in Frameline48’s
Haze (Friday, June 28, 8:30 PM, Roxie, review to follow).
A House is Not a Disco chronicles a year (on- and off-season) of Fire Island Pines, New York, a gay beach enclave just 50 miles from New York City. We meet year-round residents and summer partiers, political activists working to make The Pines more inclusive, including people who’ve been coming since the 1970s and people there for the first time. Fire Island (which also includes the neighboring Cherry Grove, separated by a wilderness area known as The Meatrack for its former reputation as a late-night cruising area) was devastated by HIV/AIDS, with a heavy death toll and an emotional toll on those who survived. Now the challenge Fire Island faces an even deeper existential challenge: climate change has accelerated the erosion of the barrier islands just south of Long Island, and threatens to inundate them completely by around mid-century. Fire Island’s reputation as a haven mostly for affluent white cis gay men also plays heavily into the history, as a new generation struggles to change that reputation. A new park in The Pines honoring Martha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera is a strong step towards inclusiveness.
The story woven together is interesting, especially for anyone with a connection to Fire Island, but I just didn’t really find it compelling enough to warrant a “must see” rating. Still highly recommended, though.
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