Growing up, filmmaker Rachel Mason and her siblings told friends, school teachers, and everyone else that their parents ran a bookstore. They never specified what kind of store it was, and contrary to what some folks may have believed, it wasn’t circus-themed. Described as “the center of the gay universe,” the gay porn shop offered the LGBT+ community a judgement-free zone to socialize and celebrate themselves for 35-plus years. Few customers would’ve guessed that Circus of Books was owned by Karen and Barry Mason, a straight, mainstream couple who sent their kids to religious school. Rachel Mason turns the camera on her parents’ game-changing store in “Circus of Books,” an upcoming Netflix documentary for which a trailer just dropped.

“They’re not offended. They’re not scandalized. It’s their job,” we’re told of Karen and Barry. Despite their personal feelings about the work they did, the couple did feel pressure to maintain secrecy about their business. “We were probably the biggest distributor of hardcore gay films in the United States,” Karen explains, “but I never felt free to tell anybody what we did.” The spot hints that she and Barry felt torn between their synagogue and bookstore.

“This was a story that I knew I needed to share because the store had such a huge impact for so many people over so many years, and when the store was going to close, it was clear that I was the only person poised to document it, because my parents, the owners, are very private people and had no interest in having anyone film it,” Mason told us in a soon-to-be published interview. “I also wanted to really understand the depths of my parents’ involvement in the community that so respected them, when they have always been such outsiders to the community. ”

“Circus of Books” drops on Netflix April 22.