Ahead of the Curve tells the story of Curve Magazine – the long-standing, iconic lesbian publication that your mother dragged you past at the newsstand. Franco Stevens founded the magazine (originally named “Deneuve”) thirty one years ago and now we find her considering its future. We travel back to the 90s, as a band of feisty young lesbians responsible for the magazine, headed by the indomitable Franco birthed the new magazine and breathed life into queer communities by adding a cool edge to lesbian identity, previously unrepresented by mainstream print media. They give the contents of their pockets, their minds, and their talents to make the publication a success, riding the rewards of their grit to big moments like Melissa Ethridge gracing the cover. As the magazine that defined lesbian cools comes to the modern age, its fate asks something larger of lesbians and queers: how do we honor those who have brought us to our future while making the things of the past our own?
– Mara Lemesany, Damn These Heels programming committee member
Ahead of the Curve world premiered at Frameline and screened at NewFest 2020, Outfest LA 2020, and won Best Documentary at the 2020 Connecticut LGBTQ Film Festival, Reeling 2020, and the Tampa Bay International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival.
