Art and Pep

DVD or Digital File for Universities, Colleges, Community Screenings: $295 (includes Public Performance Rights) DVD: Public Libraries and K-12 (circulation only): $49 Businesses (includes multi-office access): $595 Digital File (Life-of-File MP4) $495 Bundle: DVD and Life-of-File MP4 $550 (includes Public Performance Rights)

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A story at the heart of our history.

Falling in love was easy
Fighting for love was everything

Synopsis

Art Johnston and Pepe Peña are civil rights leaders whose life and love is a force behind LGBTQ+ equality in the heart of the country. Their iconic gay bar, Sidetrack, has helped fuel movements and create community for decades in Chicago's queer enclave. But, behind the business and their historic activism exists a love unlike any other. The documentary film ART AND PEP tells the inspiring story of the long struggle for equality and their fight to love freely.

America’s popular telling of queer progress largely comes from the coasts - Stonewall, the Cooper Do-Nuts Riot and Harvey Milk’s legacy. ART AND PEP is a story of equality born in the heartland. The first state to decriminalize homosexuality, Illinois was on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic, anti-discrimination laws and marriage equality. But long before government officials would utter the words “HIV,” it was gay bars that transformed into community centers and became ground zero in the fight. While Art and Pep never set out to be activists, for them inaction was never an option.

The battles they faced. The camaraderie they formed. The generation they galvanized. And the clout they created. Their story is at the heart of LGBTQ+ history.

Credits:

Director: Mercedes Kane  
Executive Producer: Kevin Hauswirth
Producer: Nate Freyman
Cinematographer: Sanghoon Lee
Editor: C.J. Arellano   

88 minutes  | DVD release 2023 | SDH Subtitles in English

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About Sidetrack

Art and Pep's iconic gay bar, Sidetrack, has helped fuel movements and create community for decades in Chicago’s queer enclave. What most people don’t know is that behind the business and their historic activism exists a love unlike any other. America’s popular telling of queer progress largely comes from the coasts – Stonewall, the Cooper Do-Nuts Riot and Harvey Milk’s legacy. ART AND PEP is a story of equality born in the heartland. The first state to decriminalize homosexuality, Illinois was on the front lines of the AIDS epidemic, anti-discrimination laws and marriage equality. But long before government officials would utter the words “HIV,” it was gay bars that transformed into community centers and became ground zero in the fight. While Art and Pep never set out to be activists, for them inaction was never an option.

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Director Biography

As a storyteller, Mercedes Kane is forever fascinated by the human experience and the many ways to explore and express that experience. She most recently directed the feature films ART AND PEP (2022), MORE WITH LESS: THE POWER OF HBCUs IN AMERICA (2022) and WHAT REMAINS: THE BURNING DOWN OF BLACK WALL STREET (2021, the Smithsonian Museum of African American History and Culture) about th1921 Tulsa race massacre. ART AND PEP premiered at OutFest in Los Angeles, before winning the Audience Award at the Chicago International Film Festival. It is currently screening at dozens of film festivals worldwide and has received several additional awards including Best Documentary Film. Her third feature length documentary, the award-winning BREAKFAST AT INA’S, premiered at the Chicago International Film Festival before screening at 50+ international film festivals, then being acquired by American Public Television.

 

Festivals and Press

RogerEbert.com: Review: “The Result is a Real Charmer.”
Chicago International Film Festival: Audience Award, Best Documentary
Centre Film Festival: Gratitude Award
Stamped Film Festival: Best Documentary 
World Premiere: Outfest LA 2022
Deadline: Outfest 2022 Line-up announcement

The Queer Review: Outfest LA 2022 Review – Art and Pep
USA Today Pride Month Issue: Sidetrack Spreads the Love (p. 23)
Television Business International: Espresso Picks up LGBTQ* Doc Art and Pep