From 1974 to 1994, Studio One and its adjoining live music venue, The Backlot, became symbols of hope and community for gay men during tumultuous times. Amidst the rise of gay rights, disco’s heyday, and the devastating AIDS crisis, the club offered sanctuary from rampant homophobia and police oppression. 26 years later, West Hollywood faces the demolition of this iconic building, sending the community into uproar to preserve its history. Through personal accounts, the documentary delves into Studio One’s story against the backdrop of a progressing gay liberation clashing with 80s conservatism and the escalating AIDS nightmare. It’s a testament to an era, immortalising the club’s legacy for future generations.

“Studio One: Forever” is not simply a documentary about the iconic club of its namesake, but a story about Los Angeles’s queer community in the 70s and 80s, into the 90s and today.

The film opens with former employees and patrons visiting the factory, now a straight club, and potentially doomed for destruction by the city of West Hollywood. When one of the film’s subjects compares this walk through to Stephen Sondheim’s “Follies,” I knew I was in for a treat.

The film, directed by Marc Saltarelli, manages something rarely seen in documentary. It manages to cover so many important aspects of the story, sometimes minutely, with great impact on the audience.

I had personally never heard of Studio One, the brain child of owner Scott Forbes, naively assuming it was an offshoot of the infamous Studio 54 in New York City, only to find out that Ian Schrager and Steve Rubell very likely copied Studio One, opening Studio 54 afterward! Even though I moved to NYC in the early 2000s, many of the experiences being had at the LA club in the 70s were very relatable to me. The ability to be oneself on the dancefloor, in an alternate reality of sorts. The major difference was that my time in the clubs in NYC were at the end of the AIDS crisis, where they were just beginning in the early days of Studio One.

In addition to a moving segment titled, “The Decade From Hell,” the film tackles other tragedies - including a heartbreaking segment involving the murder of one of the club’s patrons told by his surviving boyfriend, the owner Scott Forbes’s prejudice toward people of color, and the drug use that, at first seemed like a fun time, only to turn into a ravaging coping mechanism to deal with the horrors of the AIDS crisis.

We also get to see wonderful footage and stories from “The Backlot,” a performance space which attracted the likes of Cary Grant and Bette Davis who would have to travel through the booming dance floor’s sweaty and shirtless gay men to get to the performances of artists such as Chita Rivera, who is interviewed in the film and has since passed away.

Check out the trailer below!

Studio One Forever will be in UK Cinemas from 18th October, available exclusively on the IFC Channel in January 2025, with a Digital release in March 2025

FB: @UKKaleidoscope | IG: @ukkaleidoscope/ TW: @UKKaleidoscope | YT: @kaleidoscopeent /

Studio One is the untold story of America's iconic gay disco a kaleidoscopic excursion into LGBTQ+ history through the lens of this groundbreaking club. With Chita Rivera Bruce Vilanch Lance Bass Thelma Houston and many more.