Folsom Forever
In the face of adversity, in the early 1980s, the heart of the gay men’s leather community - centered in a “scrappy little neighbourhood of San Francisco” - faced the onslaught of the HIV-ADIS crisis. In this maelstrom, the community faced a pincer movement with the encroachment of ‘urban regeneration’: a combination of gentrification with bulldozers at the ready to clear away homes for new apartments and the obligatory art gallery and coffee shop chain.
Folsom Forever covers the 30 years of the world’s biggest and most comprehensive celebration of kink.
The response from the community was the Folsom Street Fair, a clarion call to attention to gentrification and raise money for AIDS charities - there was little in the way of a social health care system in California on the European model.
Directed and written by Mike Skiff, whose previous work includes Kink Crusaders, a documentary film produced in 2011, covering the history of International Mister Leather contest.
Incorporating interviews with organisers, Mike Skiff uses a mixture of archive footage which includes Harvey Milk and the Village People, with footage shot at the 2012 festival gathering, he covers the story from its little beginnings through today: the world’s largest outdoor kink and fetish event.
The Folsom Street Fair now draws 400,000 people from all over the world, supports indie bands, provides a big boost to business and tourism, and last year (2012) awarded $330,000 in grants to local non-profit organisations.
The World Premiere of Folsom Ever takes place on Sunday February 23rd at the Riverside Studios, in West London’s Hammersmith. LeatherWest will be present to cover the event. Tickets for the event are available direct from the venue here.
Links:
Folsom Forever: Web Site, Facebook and Twitter.
