American Experience 35x6 - Casa Susanna

In the 1950s and '60s, an underground network of transgenderwomen and cross-dressing men found refuge at a modest house inthe Catskills region of New York. Known as Casa Susanna, thehouse provided a safe place to express their true selves andlive for a few days as they had always dreamed—dressed as andliving as women without fear of being incarcerated orinstitutionalized for their self-expression. Told through thememories of those whose visits to the house would change theirlives, the film provides a moving look back at a secret worldwhere the persecuted and frightened found freedom,acceptance, and, often, the courage to live their lives outof the shadows.