Ecstatic Affirmations: Films by Pat Rocco

Ecstatic Affirmations: Films by Pat Rocco

Pioneering activist and filmmaker Pat Rocco (1934-2018) produced short-form gay erotica in the 1960s that was widely embraced by the gay community, and received positive reviews from the mainstream press, including Variety, the Los Angeles Times, and Playboy magazine. Rocco's prolific output of erotic films slowed in the early 1970s as market preferences shifted toward hardcore fare. In the late 1960s through the 1980s, Rocco shot historically important footage of gay demonstrations, parades, marches, festivals and events, providing some of the only existing moving image documentation of the major beginnings of the gay rights movement in the U.S. (from the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project)

In this collection, Outfest Now is proud to feature several restorations of Rocco's activist documentary shorts including Sign of Protest (1970), Changes (1970), We Were There (1976), and a speech from Harvey Milk delivered in Los Angeles while campaigning against the Briggs Initiative (1978). Additionally, enjoy his delightful trip to longtime friend Phyllis Diller's Brentwood home in A Date with Phyllis (2003).

Outfest Now sends immense thanks and gratitude to the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project for their generous support and groundbreaking work with these terrific restorations.

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Ecstatic Affirmations: Films by Pat Rocco
  • Changes (1970)

    This filmed interview with a local trans woman telling her story was only the second film to feature a transgender subject onscreen.

  • A Date with Phyllis (2003)

    Pat Rocco and his partner are meeting his old friend, actress and comedian Phyllis Diller, at her home in Brentwood, California. Diller gives them a tour of her house, photos and other memorabilia documenting her long career. (from Outfest UCLA Legacy Project)

  • Harvey Milk speech in Los Angeles (1978)

    Harvey Milk visits Los Angeles in 1978 to campaign against the Briggs Initiative.

  • Sign of Protest (1970)

    Activists in West Hollywood protest for the removal of an (unintentionally misspelled) homophobic sign in the bar of Barney's Beanery.

  • We Were There (1976)

    It's Gay Pride Week in California during the bicentennial year 1976, and Pat Rocco captures joy on the streets of Los Angeles and San Francisco.