LaGuardia & Wagner Archives Honors Film + Filmmakers Illuminating the LGBTQ+ Experience

Grit and Glamour: LGBTQ+ Films Set in New York is the Archives’ 43rd annual calendar
drawing from its collections chronicling New York City history

Long Island City (February 4, 2022)–A new publication from the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College/CUNY honors films and filmmakers that illuminate the LGBTQ+ experience and continues its work chronicling New York City History. Titled Grit and Glamour: LGBTQ+ Films Set in New York , the Jan. 2022–Jan. 2023 calendar explores films made over the past 50 years depicting LGBTQ+ relationships, and highlights significant moments and trailblazers in LGBTQ+ film. Funding from The Office of the New York City Mayor and The New York City Council made this publication possible.

Grit and Glamour is the latest in the Archives’ long-running calendar series. Since 1979 it has produced an annual calendar on a topic drawing from its collections chronicling New York City history. This is the fourth consecutive calendar featuring the LGBTQ+ community and is based on its LGBTQ+ Collection. The previous three calendars focused on the history of LGBTQ Life in the City, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts.

“The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives is distinctive to LaGuardia—no other college in New York City has something similar. It is a valuable resource for our students, faculty, staff, and outside researchers, and does important work illuminating our city’s history and educating tomorrow’s historians,” said LaGuardia Community College President Kenneth Adams. “I am especially proud to display the 2022 calendar as it showcases the filmmaking expertise of graduates and faculty members from LaGuardia and across CUNY.”

Graduates and faculty featured in Grit and Glamour include LaGuardia professor Jason Schafer who wrote the award-winning screenplay for Trick (see October). Two LaGuardia graduates, director Flavio Alves and actor Carlie Guevara, are featured for their work on The Garden Left Behind (see December). And Yoruba Richen, founding director of the documentary program at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, is featured as a trailblazer in LGBTQ+ film. Richen, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, spoke at the calendar e-launch party held earlier this month.

“When we began producing an annual calendar over four decades ago, it was a way to bring New York City history into people’s homes and workplaces,” said Archives Director Dr. Richard Lieberman. “Now it’s become a reflection on significant social and cultural happenings of the present day, looking back on how we’ve gotten to where we are. New York’s LGBTQ+ community is an integral part of our great city. The series of calendars—2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022—illuminates how the LGBTQ+ community has employed film and other forms of visual and performing arts to advance greater acceptance and legal protection for their community. There is much to learn from their stories.”

A free download of the calendar is available here. To request a copy in English or Spanish by mail, send a note to warchives@lagcc.cuny.edu.

About the LaGuardia and Wagner Archives
The LaGuardia and Wagner Archives at LaGuardia Community College chronicles the past 150 years of New York City history, with a growing focus on Queens and the outer boroughs. Housing more than two million documents, and with 100,000 photographs digitized and accessible on its website, the Archives serves students, scholars, journalists, policy makers, and exhibition planners. Collections include the records of the New York City Council and the New York City Housing Authority; explorations into Queens local history and LGBTQ activism in Queens; as well as the papers and personal mementos of Mayors Fiorello H. LaGuardia, William O’Dwyer, Robert F. Wagner, John V. Lindsay, Abraham D. Beame, Edward I. Koch, David Dinkins, and Rudolph Giuliani.

About LaGuardia Community College
LaGuardia Community College (LAGCC), located in Long Island City, Queens, educates thousands of New Yorkers annually through degree, certificate, and continuing education programs . LaGuardia is a national voice on behalf of community colleges, where half of all U.S. college students study. Part of the City University of New York (CUNY), the College reflects the legacy of our namesake, Fiorello H. LaGuardia, the former NYC mayor beloved for his championing the underserved. Since our doors opened in 1971, our programs regularly become national models for pushing boundaries to give people of all backgrounds access to a high quality, affordable college education.