Directed by Richard Shpuntoff ∙ 2016 ∙ United States - Argentina

The story of Julio Rivera, along with an interview with director Richard Shpuntoff and clips from the film, will be featured in an episode from the series NY Homicide on Hulu's Oxygen Network. Watch the film on our platform, then tune-in for more on August 12!

Bronx-born Puerto Rican Julio Rivera was murdered in a schoolyard in Jackson Heights, Queens on July 2, 1990, by three young men looking to "clean up" their neighbourhood, but instead the murder sparked the coming out of New York’s largest and until then most closeted LGBTQ community.

JULIO OF JACKSON HEIGHTS is the story of how all this changed. It is the story of how a handful of people – Julio’s friends and family – decided that they would not accept the official police report, and learned how to organize, ultimately bringing their case to the attention of then Mayor Dinkins.

The movement has given birth to dozens of LGBTQ organizations and advocacy groups, the Queens Pride Parade which was the first LGBTQ pride parade in one of the “outer” boroughs of New York City, and ultimately it served as the platform for electing Queens’ first two openly gay candidates to the New York City Council.

All proceeds generated from the streaming of this video are split between the artists/rights holder and Cinema Politica. To find out more visit cinemapolitica.org.