Documentary uses rare footage to tell a love story
By CHRISTINA YOON Special to the Daily Press
AERO THEATRE Amid fresh debates over gay marriage in California, a new documentary by Tina Mascara and Guido Santi examines an unapologetic same-sex relationship between two Santa Monica artists that began half a century ago and lasted for over three decades.
“Chris & Don: A Love Story,” premiering tonight at the Aero Theatre, chronicles the tender, passionate and sometimes rocky love between portrait artist Don Bachardy and the late writer Chris Isherwood.
“It’s by chance that the film is being released right now,” said Santi, “but it’s important to see that gay couples were a possibility before it was legal.”
Tonight’s premiere will be followed by a question and answer session with Bachardy and the filmmakers. On June 29, Bachardy will open the doors to the Santa Monica Canyon home he shared with Isherwood for an intimate reception. Attendees will see the couple’s impressive art collection, including “Hockney Hall,” filled with works by their good friend David Hockney, and the only known self-portrait of playwright Tennessee Williams, which hangs in the kitchen. Proceeds from tonight’s screening and the June 29 reception will benefit the Santa Monica Conservancy.
Bachardy and Isherwood met in the 1950s on the beaches of Santa Monica. Bachardy was a wide-eyed 18-year-old Southern California native, and Isherwood was the 49-year-old author of “The Berlin Stories,” the basis for the musical and film “Cabaret.” Their 30-year age difference sent shock waves throughout Isherwood’s elite circle of friends, which included W.H.Auden and Igor Stravinsky.
Despite their unconventional pairing, Bachardy and Isherwood were proudly forthcoming about their relationship. They were also hopelessly devoted.
“I knew that this time, I had really committed myself,” Isherwood wrote in his diary (read by actor Michael York for the film). “Don might leave me, but I couldn’t possibly leave him.”
The couple challenged the conventions of the 1950s and ‘60s, when at times they could not even rent an apartment together because of their sexual orientation; they were together until Isherwood died of prostate cancer in 1986. According to Mascara, it was a challenge to tell this “story about the past” that was now without one of its lead characters. She and Santi incorporated Isherwood’s diary entries, along with photos and home movies of the couple as they spent time with Isherwood’s famous and influential friends, to bring Isherwood’s intelligence, humor and rebelliousness to life on film.
Mascara and Santi also employed two art students to animate drawings that Bachardy and Isherwood regularly used in their correspondence with one another: a cat character representing Bachardy and an old horse standing in for Isherwood.
“We wanted to find a way to help people into their magical world,” Mascara said.
The filmmakers have found a way into the artists’“magical world” themselves. Santi had been good friends with Bachardy for over 20 years and had considered the film idea for some time, but had placed it on the back burner until he met Mascara. The two filmmakers soon became a couple and decided to embark on the project together. Making the documentary together brought Mascara into Bachardy’s circle of friends as well. Mascara and Santi now cook dinner for Bachardy at his home about once a month.
The filmmakers said that they drew strength from Bachardy and Isherwood’s stories as they faced the inevitable challenges surrounding independent filmmaking. They were especially inspired by Bachardy, who at 74 still has a model come to his home every morning so he can paint, and travels internationally to do commissioned portraits. Once overshadowed by his celebrated partner, Bachardy is now a prolific and highly sought-after artist, having painted the portraits of famous figures including Jane Fonda, Katharine Hepburn and Jerry Brown.
“His commitment to his art has been an inspiration to us at moments when we had no money and wanted to go back to paying jobs. We would say, ‘What would Don do?’” Santi said.
Mascara agreed. “His work ethic is unlike anyone’s, even at 74,” she said.“He lives intentionally — every second is accounted for.”
Mascara and Santi hope that audiences see the universal themes of love, art and creativity in the true story of this unique couple.
“It’s an important piece of history for L.A. and important for the gay community,” said Santi, “but it’s a film that has emotions in it that everyone can relate to.”
Tickets for the June 25 screening of “Chris & Don: A Love Story” at the Aero are $35. There are a limited number of tickets available for the June 29 reception for $150. Proceeds from both events benefit the Santa Monica Conservancy. To purchase tickets, visit www.smconservancy.org.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 25, 2008. Read the original PDF.