Before You Know It (film)

Before You Know It is a 2013 documentary directed by PJ Raval following the lives of three gay seniors as they navigate the adventures, challenges and surprises of life and love in their golden years. Formerly known lovingly as Untitled Gay Retiree Documentary.

Festivals

The film premiered at South by Southwest 2013 and screened at other film festivals such as Independent Film Festival of Boston, the San Francisco International Film Festival, Maryland Film Festival, Toronto LGBT Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival, Outfest Los Angeles LGBT Film Festival, Asian Film Festival of Dallas, QFest Philadelphia, and QFest Galveston. The film had its national PBS premiere on June 30, 2015.

Synopsis

The subjects of Before You Know It are no ordinary senior citizens. They are go-go booted bar-hoppers, love struck activists, troublemaking baton twirlers, late night Internet cruisers, seasoned renegades and bold adventurers. They are also among the estimated 2.4 million LGBT Americans over the age of 55 in the U.S. many of whom face heightened levels of discrimination, neglect and exclusion. But Before You Know It is not a film about cold statistics, it’s a film about generational trailblazers who have surmounted prejudice and defied expectation to form communities of strength, renewal and camaraderie. Before You Know It focuses on the lives of three gay seniors, but reminds us that while LGBT elders face a specific set of issues, aging and its challenges are universal. An affirmation of life and human resilience told with a refreshing humor and candor, Before You Know It confirms that you are never too old to reshape society.

Press

Here's what other people are saying about Before You Know It:

Named of the Film.com’s "Best of the Fest"; IndieWIRE’s “10 Films We Can’t Wait to See”;Filmmaker Magazine’s “25 Picks for the SXSW Film and Interactive Festivals”; and The Huffington Post's "Top ten screenings, speeches and events" at the San Francisco International Film Festival

"Before You Know It is not only an exposé of the gay experience and the elderly experience but of the human condition. Its emotion is raw and presentation is as well." -- The Horn

"Before You Know It is an exemplary example of a documentary that successfully puts human faces on wider issues, eschewing polemics in favor of the personal." -- Slant Magazine

"The magic of Raval’s film is that it is unsentimental yet immensely sympathetic in its depiction of ordinary lives." -- Edge LGBT News

"What could have been a hot-button doc about a very sticky moral and political subject sidesteps the BS and simply delivers a heartbreaking, uplifting and life-affirming collage about what it means to be gay in modern America. This is a beautiful, humane movie." -- Movies.com

"Raval’s heartfelt and intimate look into the lives of three elderly gay men provides more insight into a whole generation of people than most series could hope to." -- Cinespect

External links

• Official website
• Before You Know It at the Internet Movie Database
• Before You Know It at Rotten Tomatoes