Broadly stated, “Out in Manhattan” is a feature length documentary comprised of three tales on gay life in New York City. In 2007, documentaries about gay life are increasingly common but rarely as candid. “Out in Manhattan is a time capsule, “slice of life” reality film which in the spirit of “Paris is Burning” represents a lifestyle and subculture for its time. The ultimate goal for this film is to exhibit the previously unexposed modern and historical culture of New York City gay life as it has evolved.

What is most important about this film – indeed, its resounding mission, to tell a story that’s true and meaningful to the gay community at large in a straight forward news style that viewers can universally follow.  The film is the poignant, accessible, extremely , and irreverent The stories told are broad and stretch over a 40 year span of time from the ‘60s with PRIDE, 90s early millennium in Chelsea Boys to the modern day Hip Hop youth generation. This film is a biting, representative force that is palatable to several generations of people that would probably never normally watch a documentary

Out in Manhattan, for director, Maria Clara, creates a bridge between the documentarian’s desire to be educational and entertaining. To this end, “Out in Manhattan” will address hot-button issues of importance: the taboo of homosexuality and machismo within Latino and African-American community in “Life on Christopher St”, pursuit of status and  acceptance issues for white upper and middle class gay males, and paying homage to the pioneers: the trailblazers for gay civil rights. There will always be an authoritive voice providing the backbone for the films argument, they will include super producer DJ Junior Vasquez, Trent Straube of HX, leading gay men’s magazine, and Emile Griffith, four time welter weight champion boxer and subject of TBS doc “Ring of Fire” The analysis will be thorough, but the presentation will entertain.

Besides arming ourselves with a riveting subject, the remainder of this outline will detail ways in which the film’s style will draw in the target audience. Our intent is to produce a work that incorporates house and hip-hop, that captures contemporary urban realities, that moves and shakes with the pizzazz of its subject and, in no short order, captures the attention of homosexuals while at the same time enthralling straight audiences. And this is how we intend to do it: