Circus of Books (2019)
3.7 of 5 from 45 ratings
1h 32min
- General info
- Available formats
- Synopsis:
In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Larry Flynt was seeking distributors for Hustler Magazine. What was expected to be a brief sideline led to their becoming fully immersed in the LGBT community as they took over a local store, 'Circus of Books'. A decade later, they had become the biggest distributors of gay porn in the US. The film focuses on the double life they led, trying to maintain the balance of being parents at a time when LGBT culture was not yet accepted. Their many challenges included facing jail time for a federal obscenity prosecution and enabling their store to be a place of refuge at the height of the AIDS crisis. 'Circus of Books' offers a rare glimpse into an untold chapter of queer history, and it is told through the lens of the owners' own daughter, Rachel Mason, an artist, filmmaker and musician. - Actors:
- Karen Mason, Barry Mason, Micah Mason, Rachel Mason, Josh Mason, Fernando Aguilar, Freddie Bercovitz, Gisella Colindres, Ellen Friedman, Larry Flynt, David Gregory, Joseph Hawkins, Alexandr Jonah Ivolgin, Harold Kameya, Ellen Kameya, Polly Kim, Ben Liefke, Billy Miller, Paulo Morillo, Don Norman
- Directors:
- Rachel Mason
- Producers:
- Adam Baran, Cynthia Childs, Camilla Hall, Rachael Morrison
- Writers:
- Rachel Mason, Kathryn Robson
- Genres:
- Documentary, Lesbian & Gay, Special Interest