“Circus of Books” will make its world premiere at Tribeca Film Festival this evening, but that’s not all writer-director Rachel Mason is celebrating. The doc has already found a home. Netflix snagged worldwide rights to the feature about a gay porn shop. Variety confirmed the news.
Counting Ryan Murphy among its exec producers, “Circus of Books” tells the story of the LA-based shop of the same name. For 35 years, the store has “served as an epicenter for LGBT life and culture in Los Angeles,” the source summarizes. “Unbeknownst to many in the community, the store is cultivated and cared for by its owners, Karen and Barry Mason — a straight couple with three children. The movie offers an intimate portrait of the Masons and their journey to become one of the biggest distributors of hardcore gay porn in the United States. Their story unfolds through the lens of their daughter, filmmaker and artist Rachel.”
Tribeca kicked off April 24 and runs until May 5. Other women-directed docs screening at the fest include Yu Gu’s “A Woman’s Work: The NFL’s Cheerleader Problem,” a look inside the intersecting worlds of football, women’s rights, and labor rights, and Shosh Shlam and Hilla Medalia’s “Leftover Women,” a portrait of three women in China combating stigma and pressure to marry.
