LOS ANGELES — The Outfest Legacy Project will honor pioneering gay adult filmmaker Pat Rocco with tribute screenings this Sunday and on June 11 and 17. The screenings are being held in conjunction with Christopher Street West's Los Angeles Pride festival.
"From the late 1960s through the 1970s, activist and filmmaker Pat Rocco mastered the art of gay male erotic films. Many of these non-pornographic romps and love stories debuted at Los Angeles' famed Park Theatre," an Outfest rep said.
"In addition, Rocco shot extensive footage of gay demonstrations, parades, marches and festivals. His documentaries contain some of the only existing footage of the beginnings of the gay rights movement in the United States."
On Sunday at 7 p.m., the program "Mondo Rocco: A Legacy Salute to Pat Rocco”will include screenings of such rare films as “Homosexuals on the March” and “Performance” (both 1968) and “The Groovy Guy” (1969). Rocco is scheduled to attend.
Outfest has scheduled for June 11 at 8 p.m. the program “Sex, Love & Sprockets: Pat Rocco’s Small Gauge Films”at the Echo Park Film Center. “This evening’s screening will span his eclectic career with a focus on his small gauge work,” the fest said, including Harvey Milk’s famed 1978 “Hope” speech.
The program “An Evening with Pat Rocco: Early Rocco Erotica and Other Treasures”will screen June 17 at 7:30 p.m. as part of Outfest Wednesdays in conjunction with the American Cinematheque at the historic Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard.
The Legacy Project for LGBT Film Preservation is a collaboration between OutFest, the Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival, and the UCLA Film & Television Archive to collect and preserve queer film and video.
