30th Anniversary - 4K Restoration

The Celluloid Closet

with special guests
Lily Tomlin, Directors Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman

Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Doors: 6:00 pm | Show: 7:00 pm

This film is Rated R.**

All doors & show times subject to change.

Film format subject to change.

**This film is rated R. Children under age 17 require an accompanying parent or guardian (age 21 or older) to attend R rated screenings. 25 years and under may be asked to show ID for R rated screenings.

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The Celluloid Closet

The Celluloid Closet

Celebrate three decades of the groundbreaking documentary The Celluloid Closet at the iconic Castro Theatre! Based on Vito Russo’s seminal book, the 1995 film by Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman excavates a century of Hollywood’s often-coded, censored, and complex portrayal of LGBTQ+ characters. Narrated by Lily Tomlin and featuring commentary from Hollywood legends like Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Whoopi Goldberg, Tony Curtis, Gore Vidal, and Harvey Fierstein, The Celluloid Closet is an exuberant, eye-opening look at the evolution from subtext to open representation.

Marking 30 years since its legendary 1996 premiere at The Castro Theatre, this special night will feature a live, in-person appearance from the film’s directors, Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, who will introduce this enduring work of LGBTQ cinema. Unexpected surprises are also planned to commemorate this profoundly important film.

Don’t miss this essential night of film history, reflection, and community!

Lily Tomlin

Lily Tomlin, one of America’s foremost comediennes, continues to venture across an ever-widening range of media, starring in television, theater, motion pictures, animation, video, and social media. Throughout her extraordinary career, Tomlin has received numerous awards, including: eight Emmys, with 25 primetime and 5 daytime nominations; a Tony for her one woman Broadway show, Appearing Nitely; a second Tony for Best Actress, a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics’ Circle Award for her one woman performance in Jane Wagner’s The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe; a CableAce Award for Executive Producing the film adaptation of The Search; a Grammy for her comedy album, This is a Recording as well as nominations for her subsequent albums Modern Scream, And That’s the Truth, and On Stage; and two Peabody Awards–the first for the ABC television special, Edith Ann’s Christmas (Just Say Noël), and the second for narrating and executive producing the HBO film, The Celluloid Closet. In 2003, she received the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor and, in December 2014, was the recipient of the prestigious Kennedy Center Honors in Washington DC. Tomlin was recently honored with the Career Achievement Award from the Television Critics Association and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Screen Actors Guild.