“Wildly entertaining!”
— Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
“An exuberant journey into a barely remembered corner of the psychedelic 60s.”
— David Ansen, Newsweek
“This comprehensive and charming film not only recalls those days exactly, it also manages the wonderful trickof taking us back there along with it.”
— Kenneth Turan,
“A fascinatingly detailed snapshot of the flamboyant outer reaches of countercultural San Francisco in the hippie years and an emotional celebration of diversity, liberation, sexual anarchy and fabulousness…”
— David Rooney,
“…a loving look at the San Francisco drugs-and-drag theatre troupe…a ragtag portrait of a cultural moment when free expression reigned supreme.”
— Bruce Diones,
ABOUT THE FILM
LONG SYNOPSIS
We are celebrating the 20th Anniversary of the Sundance Premiere of THE COCKETTES, the eponymous documentary about the original gender revolutionaries, “The Cockettes.” The film has been digitally re-mastered and its re-release on the film festival circuit couldn’t come at a more welcome time!
As the psychedelic San Francisco of the ’60’s began evolving into the gay San Francisco of the ’70’s, The Cockettes, a flamboyant ensemble of hippies (gay men, women, and babies) decked themselves out in gender-bending drag and tons of glitter for a series of legendary midnight musicals at the Palace Theater in North Beach. With titles like “Tinsel Tarts in a Hot Coma” and “Pearls over Shanghai,” these all-singing, all-dancing extravaganzas featured elaborate costumes, rebellious sexuality, and exuberant chaos. In their 2½ year existence, The Cockettes created 20 shows, and were featured in 4 films. They created a unique burst of cultural experimentation and artistic outrageousness that continues to influence the worlds of theater, music, fashion, gay politics and spirituality, and urban club life.
Directors Bill Weber, David Weissman
Producer David Weissman
Co-Producer Roger Klorese
Associate Producer Robert Croonquist
Editor Bill Weber
Cinematographer Marsha Kahm
Sound James LeBrecht - Berkeley Sound Artists
Original Score Composed by Richard “Scrumbly” Koldewyn
Music Peter Dunne
Orchestral Arrangements by Nik Phelps
Special Piano Performances by Peter Mintun
Music Supervisor Gerry Gershman
Cast The Cockettes
FESTIVALS
2002: Sundance
AWARDS
Best Documentary of 2002 (Los Angeles Film Critics Award)
AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World
EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, MP4
PRESS KIT
press kit coming soon
AVAILABLE PRESS IMAGES (click to preview)
