Overview

In Italian cinema, the figure of the homosexual has always been presented as a stereotype and in a deliberately offensive way, as if the only way to treat a subject that was to all intents and purposes a taboo was through parody or mockery. But it was in the cinema of the 70s, in all its various film types, from sexy comedies to detective stories, that we find gay characters constantly present in films, almost obsessively. Unfortunately, they were the butt of coarse, trivialising humour, which reflected the backward social attitudes and homophobia of the time. To understand the causes of this phenomenon, Andrea Meroni, a young director from Milan, met the leading actors and directors of that time (e.g. Lino Banfi, Enrico Vanzina and Leo Gullotta), as well as experts, critics and activists of the LGBTQI movement. The result? A surprisingly ironic documentary that talks about the way we were when we were 'froci' (fags).

1. Andrea Meroni

   Director