Four years ago, director PJ Raval dove headfirst into weaving together a documentary on an often overlooked slice of the country’s population: LGBTQ seniors. Shadowing three 70-plus gay men on distant corners of the country — Harlem, New York, Galveston, Texas and Portland — “Before you Know It” shares a fragile and rarely told story on the challenges faced by this growing population. This is population that has seen the Stonewall Riots give way to Pride parades and gay marriages.
One of the films’ stars, Dennis Creamer, moved to a LGBTQ-centric retirement home, Rainbow Vista, in Gresham in the hopes of finding a new community after his wife passed away. Creamer, along with Raval, will be at the films’ Portland premiere on Oct 6 at Cinema 21 as a part of the Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival. In preparation for the upcoming screening, we spoke with Raval about his time in Portland and intentions behind the film.
Alex Zeilinski: Why did you select Portland as one of the three locales focused on in the documentary?
PJ Raval: I had the idea for this film for quite some time, but doing research at Rainbow Vista and talking with LGBTQ groups in Portland, it started to click. Dennis was at Rainbow Vista just seeing if he wanted to live there when I stopped by. But as soon as we started talking, I knew I had to focus on his story. And it happened to be here.
A.Z.: How long did the entire filmmaking process take?
P.R.: From the idea, it’s been about four years. The actual filming took three of those years. So I was really in Portland every other month for a while, I became comfortable with the community and city. What I especially like about non-fiction filmmaking is how you’re able to spend time to truly understand someone’s life. I feel like I really got to delve into these men’s stories over the years.
A.Z.: Why did you choose to focus on the senior LGBTQ population in particular?
P.R.: I think overall senior populations are overlooked and underserved. LGBTQ seniors in particular are the most extreme cases of both ageism and discrimination. We have to think about their history, how they got to where they are — it wasn’t easy. It’s tough since a lot of them don’t have children to take care of them in their old age. They don’t have that support. A lot of LGBTQ seniors are estranged from their families. Most are hesitant to be out while living in a retirement community, where the main population grew up in a world where being gay wasn’t an option.
A.Z.: What is the overarching purpose of creating this film? How can it speak to the general public, not just the LGBTQ population?
P.R.: For me, it’s telling the untold story of a very specific group of people and an overall discussion at the idea of aging in the U.S. Everyone gets older, so everyone can relate to the basic options and concerns these men are facing.
A.Z.: Were there any pieces of the project that you hadn’t expected to discover in the process or that took you by surprise?
P.R.: Well — I am not a senior. So my biggest discovery, or “of course!” moment, was that I had so much in common with them. I loved discovering that a lot of them are still figuring out who they are. The world changes and they have to adapt to it. I love the idea that you live your life to the fullest, always. That that part doesn’t stop. It’s often thought that when you reach a certain age, you become stagnant. But this project taught me otherwise. Growth is ageless.
A.Z.: What did you see as your greatest challenges?
P.R.: Getting people to open up in front of a camera is a huge challenge for anyone. The senior generation in particular is not so media savvy and not accustomed to being on film — unlike the younger generations that upload videos of themselves on YouTube daily. Being filmed and then seeing themselves on the screen was a bigger deal to them. We were also talking with people who were still closeted, and not fully out. So we wanted to be extra careful with exposing them.
A.Z.: And since SXSW, what kind of reception have you seen?
P.R.: It’s been great so far, People are really surprised how much they can relate to the characters, and surprised by how moved they are. A lot of people start thinking about their own lives and relationships. The best part is seeing the senior stars of the film take the documentary with them on their own adventures, hosting their own panels and having a platform to talk about their stories.
"Before You Know It" will have its Portland premiere at 4 p.m., Oct. 6, Cinema 21 as part of the Portland Lesbian & Gay Film Festival.