SAN FRANCISCO – The Hormel LGBTQIA Center of the San Francisco Public Library is proud to present a screening of the award-winning documentary, The Stroll, with first-time director Kristen Lovell live in person for a conversation with artist and educator SNJV. The free screening takes place on May 14, 5:30 p.m. at the Main Library, located at 100 Larkin St. 

When director Kristen Lovell moved to New York City in the 1990s and began to transition, she was fired from her job. With so few options to earn money to survive, Kristen, like many transgender women of color during this era, began sex work in an area known as “The Stroll” in the Meatpacking District of lower Manhattan, where trans women congregated and forged a deep camaraderie to protect each other from harassment and violence. Reuniting her sisters to tell this essential New York story from their firsthand experiences, Kristen’s intimate narration and interviews bring an astonishing array of archival material of bygone New York from the 1970s through the early 2000s to life. In this new era of visibility and activism,The Stroll reminds us that trans women of color and sex workers continue to forge a path forward, thriving through their resilience, community organizing and sisterhood. 

“We are thrilled to bring The Stroll to the Library, and having Kristen Lovell in person makes it even more special,” says Hormel LGBTQIA Center librarian Kevin Darling. “Kristen and her sisters from The Stroll reclaim the narrative around sex work in this timely and powerful document of transgender sisterhood, and we are so excited to showcase this beautiful work.” 

Kristen Lovell has been an advocate in the trans community for over 20 years. As an actress, she appeared in Random Acts of Flyness, and she was co-producer of the award-winning feature The Garden Left Behind. The Stroll is her directorial debut. 

The Stroll, Screening and Discussion with Filmmaker – May 14, 5:30 p.m., Main Library, Koret Auditorium

About San Francisco Public Library:

San Francisco Public Library is dedicated to free and equal access to information, knowledge, independent learning and the joys of reading for our diverse community. The library system is made up of 27 neighborhood branches, the San Francisco Main Library at Civic Center and four bookmobiles.