San Francisco on the Queer Screen: 50+ Years of Gay by the Bay

🤩 “San Francisco on the Queer Screen: 50+ Years of Gay by the Bay” (live presentation)
Monday, June 22, 2026, 5:15 PM, Roxie Theater

Peter L. Stein (at a prior event)

Frameline blurb: For even longer than Frameline has been around, queer filmmakers have been depicting Bay Area life on their own terms and telling their own fabulous stories, blissfully far from the mainstream. In this unique clip-filled talk created specifically to mark Frameline’s 50th anniversary, join documentary filmmaker and longtime Frameline programmer Peter L. Stein for a journey down the LGBTQ+ video aisle, as he shares favorite moments showcasing his hometown through a queer lens.

From private home movies shot in the 1950s to memorable imagery from the films of Marlon Riggs, Monika Treut, Jenni Olson, H.P. Mendoza, and more, Stein (whose own Peabody Award-winning PBS documentary The Castro chronicled the history of the neighborhood) will offer a rainbow kaleidoscope of hidden gems, weird shorts, and iconic moments from Tales of the City and Milk to Looking and beyond. Come enjoy an eye-opening romp through the highly unofficial archive of local queer self-reflection.

My take: Peter Stein presented clips going back to home Super 8 movies from 1947 to recent mainstream titles, with numerous waypoints along the route — old favorites and never-before-seen rarities. If you’re reading this, you’ve already missed the presentation, but if you ever get the opportunity to see Stein present a clip show like this, you should jump at the chance. I had to stand in the Rush line and then take a seat literally in the front row, but I persevered, and I’m glad I did.

• IMDb: Stein • Official website • Filmmaker [not secure] • Instagram • Facebook • preview • vimeo •