These days, many New Yorkers will take a weekend trip upstate to get away from the hustle and bustle of their daily lives.
But, back in the ’50s and ’60s, there was a particular home in the Catskills that was so much more than a getaway—it was a safe haven, a refuge, a place where the queer community could live and love and find themselves without fear of repercussions.
The place was Casa Susanna. And now its story is being told in an eye-opening documentary that shines a light on this small but crucial nook of LGBTQ+ history.
In a time before the queer liberation movement, Casa Susanna became a destination for an underground network of transgender women and cross-dressing men, who flocked there, if even for a weekend, to live freely and indulge in dinner parties, performances, and other festivities they could otherwise only dream about.
From director Sébastien Lifshitz (Wild Side, Little Girl), Casa Susanna combines archival footage, rare photography, and first-person accounts from the women who visited all those decades ago, telling its story as well as the forgotten life of Susanna Valenti, the courageous army veteran who ran the home.
Among those interviewed is an incredible woman named Diana, who found the courage to transition after moving to New York City and making multiple visits to the Catskills haven. In the documentary, she’s invited to travel back to the abandoned site and share her memories from a pivotal time in her life.
Queerty is thrilled to share an exclusive early clip from the film, in which Diana recounts moving to New York with the woman she loved at the time, visiting with renowned sexologist Harry Benjamin, and eventually making the decision to undergo gender-affirming surgery.
You can watch the clip here:
Casa Susanna premiered last fall at the Venice International Film Festival, and now is set to make its debut on PBS on Tuesday, June 27 at 9pm ET (it will simultaneously become available via PBS.org and on the PBS app). Watch the full trailer for the film below.
canusa
A wonderful doc
dbmcvey
This looks really interesting.
Harvey Feirstein wrote an excellent play called “Casa Valentina” that was about a resort where mostly heterosexual cross dressers would go for vacations. They were not gay and did not want to be considered a part of the gay community, and wouldn’t accept our help with legal issues. I’m sure many of these men would now be trans, but at the time that wasn’t even something they would consider.
Kangol2
Weinstein’s play is based on this story, as ScottA_B notes. It makes me wonder if there weren’t other such places, and how much of this vital history remains unknown or, as in the case of Feinstein’s play, is right there before our eyes but we don’t see it.
ScottA_B
Pretty sure you’re the disgusting one rearing you ugly head, here. Take your hate somewhere else.
ScottA_B
I was in a production of Harvey Fierstein’s play Casa Valentina, based on the story of Casa Susanna, when I learned of the tale. Brave, funny, & heartfelt play. There’s a nice coffee table book of photos as well.
DeeAnnCA
Similarly, every person assigned female at birth does not look like Janelle Monáe, Pink, Gal Gadot or Priyanka Jonas. Folks just have to live with that reality…
London_resistance
ScottA_B, do you honestly think these are real sexy ladies, or just blokes dressed rather freakily in costume-play
They must’ve used so many boxes of tissues wan.king during their autogyniphlle lusting.