In 2004 a collection of photographs was discovered at a flea market in Manhattan. They depicted what we now know to be life at Casa Susanna (BBC Four), a bungalow camp in upstate New York that served as a resort for cross-dressing men, often accompanied by their wives. In the years since those pictures turned up, there has been a Casa Susanna book, an exhibition, a play – and now this feature-length documentary, which goes deeper into the stories of a handful of those who were there.
This is a charming film with a big, open heart. Casa Susanna was established by Tito Valenti, a court translator who went by Susanna when dressed as a woman, and his wife, Maria, who owned a wig shop in Manhattan. When Maria is described by her grandson Gregory, she sounds utterly wonderful. The resort offered its patrons “total freedom” to dress as they wished. For many, it was the first time they had met anyone like them.
