Erotic filmmaker and L.A. Pride founder Pat Rocco’s legendary career featured in a docfilm shown at 2022 Outfest LGBTQ Film Festival
By Oliver Carnay
Screened at the Directors Guild of America on July 16, 2022 at Outfest was the documentary film “PAT ROCCO DARED.” Directors Morris Chapdelaine and Bob Christie attended the Q&A together with the late Pat Rocco’s longtime partner David Kirk Ghee.
Activist, artist, filmmaker, and entertainer Pat Rocco’s legendary career spanned decades, encompassing nude male erotic films and documentaries that bore witness to crucial moments in queer history, including speeches by Harvey Milk. In this exploration of Rocco’s work and life — which features lovingly restored versions of some of Rocco’s rarest films — filmmaker Charlie David sits down with Rocco for exclusive interviews prior to his death in 2018. Ever the good-natured showman, Rocco’s candid talks reveal the daring personality required to create work that valued, desired, and celebrated queer bodies when popular culture labeled them as shameful — revealing this to be a vital record of an unforgettable trailblazer.