On June 27, 1969, police raided The Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York. In a spontaneous show of support and frustration, the city’s gay community rioted for three nights in the streets, an event that is considered the birth of the modern Gay Rights Movement. Revealing and often humorous, this landmark queer documentary exposes the history of homosexuality in America, from 1920s Harlem through to World War II and the witch hunt trials of the McCarthy era. Re-released to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the Stonewall riots, Before Stonewall is essential viewing for all those who have celebrated their sexuality or have been persecuted because of it.

Before Stonewall was programmed by Watershed to complement the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival on Tour.