GrandPre’s bar will host a fundraiser on Sunday, July 21, for a new documentary currently in production about the AIDS crisis. The event will take place from 4:00pm to 7:00pm and feature a buffet, a drag show, and clips from the documentary. Also, filmmaker Valda Lewis will be on hand to meet and greet attendees. Tony Leggio will serve as Master of Ceremonies and the show will feature Malaysia Walker, Leonardo Black, and Vanessa Carr-Kennedy.
The fundraiser is for a new documentary called From Where We Stood: AIDS and the Culture Wars, which is being produced by Lewis. A native of England, Lewis lived in New Orleans in the 1980s and 1990s. At that time, she, along with Loretta Mims, produced an LGBT+ themed television show called Just for the Record on open access cable television.
In addition to Just for the Record, Lewis video-recorded local Pride celebrations, gay Carnival Balls, sit-ins and protests, and HIV/AIDS conferences. Much of this archival footage forms the basis of the film, which focuses on four “second wave cities”: New Orleans, Dallas, Wichita, and Cleveland. The film also includes a number of recent interviews with local historians, activists, and people living with HIV.
The film is being produced under the auspices of The Legacy Project, which Lewis founded some years ago. The Legacy Project has already raised over $100,000.00 for the film; roughly $40,000.00 more is needed to complete the film. The LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana is serving as the local fiscal agent for this effort. Donations may be made on the Archives Project website here: https://lgbtarchiveslouisiana.org/donate/ or checks may be mailed to the LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana at 1308 Esplanade Ave., New Orleans, LA, 70116.
