Casa Susanna

Not in New York City, but deep in the American countryside at the foot of Catskills in an old Victorian house, a sexual revolution took place in the 50s. What would later be known as Casa Susanna was a sanctuary for cross-dressers. Susanna herself said that the target audience was heterosexual men (who regularly brought their wives). But Casa Susanna shows us more than that. Director Sébastien Lifshitz interviewed visitors Kate and Diana, now in their eighties, who refer to the place as a refuge for anyone who questioned their gender. At the time, they could barely talk about it. what the two of them remember most is the joy of being able to be who you really are in a safe space. The meetings would continue into the 1960s. Lifshitz illustrates this story with a lot of unpublished and excellently preserved archive material.

“In the 50s and 60s, deep in the American countryside, a small wooden house was home to the first clandestine network of cross-dressers. Diane and Kate are now 80. At the time, they were men and part of this secret organization. Today, they relate this forgotten but essential chapter of the early days of trans-identity.” - Unifrance