Lavender Hill: A Love Story (2013)

• 76%
• 2013
• Documentary
• Austin Bunn

In 1973, a motley group of young writers, artists, political activists, and recent college graduates purchased land in West Danby, New York to build, with their own hands, a two story home that became Lavender Hill - one of the few gay and lesbian communes in the Back to the Land movement. In a time when over 30 "straight" communes thrived in Tompkins County, Lavender Hill, was a remarkable experiment in collaboration, gender exploration, and social and political integration between young gay and lesbians in the post-Stonewall era. The story of Lavender Hill is still writ on the landscape. The Lavender Hill house is now occupied by one of the former members (and has become private property), while the other homes and shelters dot the hillside in various states of disrepair. 'Lavender Hill: a love story' reveals the rich and complex history of this experiment in intentional living, from its theoretical beginnings in the Gay Liberation Front to its twilight during the AIDS crisis. The documentary features the voices of the former commune members and gay and lesbian activists and historians, along with rare archival 8mm film of the commune during its heyday.