A kaleidoscopic ode to a gay disco destroyed by AIDS, and one man’s crushing devotion to its most famed artifact.

Synopsis

A photographer’s obsessive chronicling of The Saint – a legendary New York City gay discotheque which lost about half of its 2,000-person membership to AIDS – leads him to Phoenix, Arizona, where a grief-stricken man faces a devastating choice: sell the club’s signature, a massive planetarium-grade star projector, which he has spent decades restoring in his living room and which he believes harbors the spirits of those lost, or risk foreclosure on his home.

Production Status

With just one major shoot left, post-production is about to begin on LIGHT YOUR NAME. Your support will facilitate our final shoot, cover production expenses including editing, aid in licensing fees for archival material, and help us compensate our composer who’s producing a beautiful score for the film. For a more detailed breakdown of how your contribution will directly positively impact the production of LIGHT YOUR NAME, please click the donate button above to see more.

Team

Ian Lewandowski Director, Producer, Co-Writer

Ian Lewandowski is a photographer and filmmaker from Northwest Indiana. His work has been exhibited in the United States and internationally, and appeared in publications like The New York Times, The New Yorker, PAPER, GAYLETTER, Shadowplay, and The Fader, among others. The Ice Palace is Gone, Ian’s first monograph comprised of color environmental portraits made on an 8x10 view camera, was published by Magic Hour Press (Montréal/New York) in 2021. My Man Mitch, his second monograph on manhood and his home state of Indiana, was published by Kult Books (Stockholm) in 2022. He holds an MFA from the State University of New York at Purchase, and teaches undergraduate and continuing education courses in photography at The New School, FIT, ICP, and Gowanus Darkroom, a community-based analogue photography studio. Ian lives and works in Brooklyn with his husband, fellow artist Anthony Cudahy, and their dog Seneca.

Luke Hodges Producer, Co-Writer

Luke Hodges is a filmmaker based in New York City, with roots in Columbia, South Carolina. He is the co-founder of Nine Patch Pictures, a documentary production company focused on queer stories. Nine Patch’s first film Cashing Out – about a controversial AIDS-era industry where dying gay men sold their life insurance policies to investors – is distributed by The New Yorker, and has screened at DOC NYC and the Provincetown International Film Festival, among others. The film is executive produced by Oscar nominee Julie Cohen (RBG). His latest documentary short, Odd Man In (executive produced by Oscar winner Caroline Waterlow, OJ: Made in America), will premiere in 2025 on PBS’ Independent Lens.

Disclaimer

This project is not endorsed by, authorized by, associated with, nor affiliated with The Saint, The Saint At Large, nor The Black Party.

fundraiser to complete LIGHT YOUR NAME

By Visual AIDS

fundraiser to complete LIGHT YOUR NAME

A documentary short by Ian Lewandowski