Death Of A Bathhouse Documentary

Death Of A Bathhouse Documentary
Death Of A Bathhouse Documentary

Two and a half years ago St. Marc’s bathhouse went bust, as written here at that time. (Another Toronto Bathhouse Bites The Dust – St Marc’s Spa).

Though management said the closing was only temporary, St Marc’s never re-opened. So this bathhouse maybe gone, but it hasn’t been forgotten.

A new bathhouse documentary film is being released. Consisting of footage from the waning days of St. Marc’s and interviews with several Toronto artists. Such as Sky Gilbert, Keith Cole and Brad Fraser.

Says producer Raymond Helkio

Rolyn had shot the footage years ago when the club was getting ready to close down. He didn’t have a specific intention of what to do with it. It was just a sort of archival documentation. The artists had done all this great work, and it was so sad to see all that beauty destroyed. No one except patrons of the club had ever seen it, so we wanted to take the opportunity to share it with the rest of the world.

Historically, bathhouses provided a safe space where you could come to fuck and know you weren’t going to get beat up. There’s definitely increasing conservatism in the gay community, both among young and older generations, and I think that comes partly from the apathy associated with a sense of safety. We have this idea that we have all these freedoms in Canada, like it’s a place completely free of homophobia, and that has an impact on how we express ourselves sexually. Bathhouses will always exist, but we’re not going to see that saturation level in terms of the number of clubs again.

For more go to Death Of A Bathhouse Documentary. Or watch below. You won’t be disappointed.

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