Denver Film to Host Screening of ‘Gay Revolt at Denver City Council’
The Center on Colfax, in collaboration with Denver Film, will be hosting a screening of Gay Revolt at Denver City Council and the Beginnings of an Organized Gay Community on Monday, October 23, 2023. The film screening will take place at the SIE Film Center from 6:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. in Denver.
Originally released in 2009, the film is both directed and narrated by Gerald Gerash—one of the founding members of the Center on Colfax—and contains testimonials and personal accounts from participants at the 1973 revolt.
October 23, 2023 will be the 50th year anniversary of the Gay Revolt that took place at the Denver City Council, in which 350 members of the LGBTQ+ community showed up to make their voices heard on two key issues. The first issue was the targeted harassment by Denver Police forces on LGBTQ+ individuals. The second issue was four anti-queer laws active in Denver that activists sought to have repealed.
Activists showed up to the city council meeting and were met with resistance, with each of the 35 selected speakers only being given under a minute each to voice their positions, in addition to then city council president Robert Koch threatening to have attendees in support of the activists’ pro-LGBTQ+ cause arrested.
Despite this resistance, the activists’ demands were met at the legislative level, as the four main anti-queer laws were repealed within a month of the Gay Revolt at the Denver City Council. The film focuses on the events and legislature that led to the revolt, those who participated, the planning and organization, and the aftermath of the revolt.
The screening will be a free event open to the public and will include a post-screening reception featuring refreshments and a Q&A panel that includes Robin Kneich—who became Denver’s first out city council person upon her election in 2011.
Interested readers can RSVP to the Gay Revolt at Denver City Council and the Beginnings of an Organized Gay Community screening on the SIE Film Center’s website.
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