“Director Gregorio Davila wants people to watch his documentary, L.A. A Queer History, at the upcoming Cinema Diverse, the Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival, because it’s more than just a gay story.
“We’ve contributed to the fabric of America and everything in it, just as much as anyone else has,” Davila says. “This is an American story just as much as any other American story as well. Hopefully people will realize and see that; maybe they will be more open-minded.”
Viewers will have a one-time opportunity to see Davila’s director’s cut at 3 p.m. Sept. 18 during the festival’s first weekend of in-person films being shown at the Palm Springs Cultural Center. Davila notes “with the director’s cut, the audience will see the film in the way I see the movie and the events. This might be the only screening of this version of the film. He is calling this cut “a sneak peek of what the movie can be.”
Davila, who grew up in Hemet, believes the film shines the spotlight on the West coast gay movement when more historical references tend to point to the Stonewall Inn in New York City.
“My main intent for this film was to entertain, but I also wanted to educate, and make our community feel proud,” Davila says. “If people know more about our history, the things that we’ve been through, but also the things that we’ve accomplished, and contributed to society as a whole, then there can be more understanding.”
Cinema Diverse is set to open Sept. 16 with Jump Darling starring Cloris Leachman in the last film before her passing in January. In-person films screen Sept. 16-19 and Sept. 22-26. Attendees can stream films during the entire two-week duration of the film festival, ending Sept. 30.
Palm Springs Life spoke further with Davila about growing up in Hemet, bringing the film to the screen, and what surprises he found during the eight-year-long project…”