This weekend, Joan Los Angeles presents an online conversation with CIRCUS OF BOOKS director Rachel Mason and producers Cynthia Childs, Kathryn Robson, and Rhianon Jones, moderated by Evan Moffitt.

For over thirty-five years, the gay porn shop Circus of Books served as an epicenter for LGBT life and culture in Los Angeles. Unbeknownst to many in the community it served, the store was cultivated and cared for by its owners, Karen and Barry Mason—a straight couple with three children. The documentary CIRCUS OF BOOKS is an intimate portrait of the Masons and their journey to become one of the biggest distributors of hardcore gay porn in the United States. Their story unfolds through the lens of their daughter, filmmaker and artist, Rachel Mason.

RACHEL MASON’S CIRCUS OF BOOKS—A VIRTUAL CONVERSATION MODERATED BY EVAN MOFFITT

Sunday, May 24.

4 pm on the West Coast; 7 pm East Coast.

The West Hollywood outpost of Circus had a brief resurrection in the Spring of 2020.

From top: Circus of Books, West Hollywood facade; Karen Mason taking stock; Circus of Books poster; Rachel Mason in 2019 at the Tribeca Film Festival presentation of Circus of Books; the Silver Lake location at Sunset Junction. Images courtesy and © the filmmaker and Netflix.