PS engrave this letter please
Welcome to Screen Gems, our weekend delves into adjacent queer and queer headlines from the past that deserve a watch or re-watch.
The Uncovered: PS Burn this letter please
With Outfest 2021 kicking off this weekend, we think it’s time to revisit one of last year’s big winners, who also cleaned up the rest of the festival circuit. PS Burn This Letter Please chronicles life in the queer underground during pre-Stonewall times. The film happened by total accident; a discovery of a mailbox belonging to Hollywood agent Edward Limato detailed his friendships with dozens of dragsters and gay men in the 1950s. Limato had requested that his estate burn the correspondence upon his death for fear of discover – and get out of – members of his social circle. Lucky for us, cold heads prevailed, as directors Jennifer Tiexiera and Michael Seligman used the letters as the basis for an unspeakable queer life chronicle.
Tiexiera & Seligman tracked down the authors of the original letters – many of whom are still alive – and managed to get them to open up to life on the fringes of society. They also unearthed stunning archival footage and photographs that recreate the drag contests and smoky halls that once hosted members of the LGBTQ family, as well as the pervasive fear and oppression of the day. That drag clubs also attract straight tourists illustrates one of the many paradoxes of the time. One interviewee relives going through conversion therapy in a lunatic asylum, while another bursts into tears remembering helping a friend fall asleep. Moments like this underscore the trauma and conditioning to keep their gay life a secret; most of them have never talked about it publicly until now.
History has a way of burying queer stories in the sands of time. PS Burn This Letter Please digs deep, pays homage to generations of LGBTQ people who came before us, and draws a line between our current flourishing culture and an era of underground prosperity. The film is a beautiful chronicle of our history and a moving reminder of how far we have come.
Streamed on Discovery + and YouTube.
