I’ve written here about Casa Susanna many times. (Just use the Search Femulate option to see how many times.)
In case you missed what I wrote, “Casa Susanna was a popular weekend destination in Jewett, NY for cross-dressing men and transgender women in the early 1960s. The bungalow camp was run by Susanna Valenti and her wife Marie, who also ran a wig store in town.” (Source: Wikipedia)
Casa Susanna, a documentary by French filmmaker Sebastien Lifshitz, vividly brings the past to life through archival footage, photographs and the memories of those who stayed at Casa Susanna.
Click here to view the film’s trailer, click here to view Cineuropa’s clips from the film and click here to read IndieWire’s review of the documentary.
The film is “in production” according to the PBS International. Since it is a PBS International production, I hope that means it will appear on television via PBS. In any case, this is a film I will not miss.
(Thank you, Gary, for alerting me about the film.)
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| Femulate reader Jim O. dress shopping at Macy’s last Wednesday |
It may be fashion... but for me, NEVER socks with heels (Femulate Her). Never.
ReplyDeleteThat Casa Susanna girl is spectacular. Her wife might divorce her for being prettier than the wife is
Fiona, I knew a couple in Los Angeles who were in this exact situation. "He" was a product developer/supporter with SDS and I was an SE in the field with SDS. My customer base used the products he supported. In fact, some insufficient product testing brought he and I nose-to--nose as we worked together to solve a big problem, and that work we did enabled me to save the account for SDS.
DeleteI met him at the factory several times. And I've written about how I used to go to The Queen Mary every time I went to LA. One night in the Queen Mary back bar I was talking to a very pretty lady -- actually she had started the conversation -- when, after talking for a while she said, "You really don't recognize me, do you"? It was that very co-worker. Over the years I got to know him and his wife quite well. When both were made up and "dressed to the nines", he was, indeed, prettier than his wife. I didn't dress with them so I wouldn't bring undue attention on us, but I did dress when he and I went to The Queen Mary back bar and also east on Ventura Boulevard to Oil Can Harry's. He was a small man and wore the same size clothing as his wife, except for shoe size. When I eventually went to work for HP, I ran into him in ou\rt development lab. This time "he" was working as his true self. He was still married and their kids were just fine having two mothers. She retired when I was about 10-11 years into my stay at HP and I lost track of them. I loved having that friendship, and "he/she" introduced me to some very beautiful ladies in Los Angeles over the years.
As a teenager of the 1960's growing up in Queens, NY it would have been of much relief to know that there were others in the world like me, let alone a place where men who emulated women could join together. It's not I could have gotten there. It would have been enough to know I was not alone.
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing to me how so many people knew about Casa Susanna in that time period. How did they find out about it; an advertisement in a magazine, newspaper or word of mouth? We are so lucky and spoiled today that with the internet we can literally find a crossdressing service, make-up transformation provider or shopping excursions while Enfemme, with the click of a mouse. Back then if you said you found Casa Susanna with a mouse, they'd think you were crazy!
ReplyDeleteMaybe "they" would try to sell you a mousetrap. Ha!
DeleteWord of mouth was the way information was spread -- that, and some well-coded ads. Those ads were always short-lived to avoid "codebreakers". That word of mouth enabled me to find The Gold Key Club in suburban Maryland (actually, in the ex-burbs). And the ladies in The Gold Key Club told me about The Queen Mary. You had to know where to go and then be there enough times to gain some trust before you got into "the buzz". I'm so glad today's ladies don't have to go through all that mess. Huzzah!~ for the internet!!
I look forward to seeing this film How will it be distributed, where can we find it. I'm sure it won't be in your local AMC theater but the independent or art theaters should be showing it. I'll keep my eye out here for it Thanks keep us updated if you can
ReplyDeleteSallee
The film appears to be a PBS production. I'm guessing it will be on PBS at some point. Note that PBS films and videos are found on Prime.
ReplyDeleteIf I have it right, two men found a big stash of Casa Susana photos in a flea market. They put the collection together in a photo book with some details. I have a copy of that book. Little did they know they'd found the proverbial "tip of the iceberg". Now there's a play that ran on Broadway and here we have a documentary. This getaway resort, known to a tight group of our crossdressing sisters in New York, has emerged as a landmark in our history. I wonder if there might be a couple very secret other "Casa Susana" getaways out there???