Ask Any Buddy

Join us for a post-screening Q&A with director Elizabeth Purchell.

Long before films like Call Me By Your Name became common fare, the only places gay men could see their lives depicted on screen with any degree of honesty was at their local all-male adult cinema. From melodramas to camp comedies, films by the gay adult film industry in the 60s, 70s, and 80s were a driving force behind the spread of gay culture. They constitute a largely forgotten, surprisingly authentic document of the era: films were often shot in actual queer spaces, starred the people who frequented them, and played back in movie theaters that doubled as safe communal spaces.

Using fragments from 126 theatrical feature films, Ask Any Buddy creates a kaleidoscopic snapshot of urban gay culture during that time. From casual tearoom cruising to actual police raids, it uses rare footage shot at dozens of real bathhouses, bars, parades, and elsewhere to explore both the sex film genre’s unique blend of fantasy and reality and its role in documenting a subculture that was just becoming visible.