LGBTQ+ activists add context to ‘Fairyland’ film at special screening

LGBTQ activisits from left Gil Robison Abby Drue Gus Kaufman Maria Helena Dolan and Lorraine Fontana discuss the Atlanta s early gay rights movement after a screening of Fairyland which tells the story of activist writer Steve Abbott and his daughter Alysia pictured on the screen behind them Photo by Collin Kelley The Tara Theatre hosted a special screening of Andrew Durham s award-winning film Fairyland on Saturday featuring a post-show talkback with a few of Atlanta s longtime LGBTQ activists Coordinated by Touching Up Our Roots Georgia s LGBTQ Story Project and Georgia LGBTQ History Project speakers included Abby Drue Lorraine Fontana Maria Helena Dolan Gil Robison and Gus Kaufman Historian Wes Nimmo who authored Atlanta s LGBTQ Context Comment moderated the conversation which also included a tribute to activist and historian Dave Hayward the co-founder of Touching Up Our Roots who died last month The film tells the true story of the late Steve Abbott a former Atlanta resident who lost his wife in a car accident in and moved with his daughter to San Francisco so he could live as an openly gay man The film based on the memoir by Abbott s daughter Alysia chronicles Abbott s life as a poet novelist and the AIDS dilemma that would engulf San Francisco in the s and s Abbott movingly played by Scoot McNairy died from complications of the ailment in Kaufman and Abbott were colleagues at Atlanta s underground newspaper The Great Speckled Bird Kaufman recalled that Abbott was an outspoken anti-Vietnam War activist during his time in the city Robison also met Abbott in Atlanta but stated they crossed paths more often once they were both living in San Francisco and reported Alysia played by Nessa Dougherty and Emilia Jones in the film was one of a multitude of children who led intriguing lives in the counterculture One of the greatest differences between then and now is that people like to talk about the gay society in those days but you can t really pick it out and isolate it Robison recalled These days it s called intersections but back then we just thought of it as liberation There was so much going on we had so plenty of facets to their lives people were involved in politics arts drugs and sex and so on Fontana recalled the formation of the Atlanta Lesbian Feminist Alliance ALFA in to give women more of a voice in the gay rights movement She disclosed these women were also progressing in Midtown and Little Five Points and often contributed to The Great Speckled Bird Drue who first came to Atlanta in the mid- s commented watching Fairyland hit her hard because we lived through every inch of the AIDS predicament and lost so numerous friends and loved ones Dave Hayward s sister Nancy Bryant stated her brother would be thrilled that so a multitude of people turned out for the screening which he was organizing at the time of his death Touching Up Our Roots was really Dave s mission He really sought people to learn from history and those with lived experience to share their stories like this panel with younger people Dave s work wasn t done and I urge everyone to carry the torch carry his mission forward Bryant noted a celebration of life will be held for Hayward after the holidays The post LGBTQ activists add context to Fairyland film at special screening appeared first on Rough Draft Atlanta