VITO: A Gay American Hero

Vito, a new film about the great activist and film historian Vito Russo, premiered at the New York Film Festival last week and it's getting raves already. It fills in an important and critical time in gay history, includes dazzling footage of old Hollywood films and amazing footage of early gay rights marches. Moving and powerful, it's one of the most important films about LGBT history to come along in a long time.

The film goes a long way in showing how Vito, like Harvey Milk, was a pivotal and significant figure in the early movement. Vito will air on HBO next year. I interviewed the director, Jeffrey Schwarz, on the show on Thursday. (I appear in the film, discussing Vito's prominence in ACT UP, where I was lucky enough to come to know him, however briefly before his death due to AIDS). Listen in to the interview.