The Los Angeles-Toronto connection: A binational gay media production history of an early feature-length physique film
A discussion by Finley Freibert, Southern Illinois University
Released in 1971, Billy Boy (directed by Rik Kerr) broke new ground as perhaps the first transnational feature film produced specifically within the gay industry. The film was commissioned by an Ontario-born producer and publisher of adult magazines who had moved to the United States, was filmed in Los Angeles and was directed by Kerr, a gay magazine publisher based in Toronto.
This talk explores how the film depicts police intervention into gay life and traces the history of police intervention into Kerr’s own enterprises in Toronto. It will also discuss how the film was made and the storytelling techniques employed, particularly in the context of the gay rights movement at the time and ongoing cultural struggles.
This event is sponsored by the Faculty of Information and the Cinema Studies Institute.
About Finley Freibert
Finley Freibert is an assistant professor of media studies at Southern Illinois University. Their work has appeared in such venues as Film Criticism, the Journal of Anime and Manga Studies, JCMS: Journal of Cinema and Media Studies, Porn Studies, and Spectator, and they are co-editor with Alicia Kozma of ReFocus: The Films of Doris Wishman (Edinburgh University Press, 2021).
Event Information and Registration
Thursday, November 16, 3 pm to 5 pm
Deluxe Screening Room, IN-222E, Innis College, 2 Sussex Avenue, Toronto
Visit the event website to learn more
