Stonewall riots movie to be released in September

Stonewall,

the upcoming movie based on the infamous 1969 riots in New York, has been given a September 25 release date in the US.

Directed by Roland Emmerich (Independence Day, The Day After Tomorrow) the drama follows the story of Danny Winters, a fictional young man caught up during the Stonewall riots of 1969. Kicked out of his parents’ home, Danny makes his way to New York and meets new people who introduce him to the local watering hole, The Stonewall Inn – where rage will build, riots will ensue and a new movement for equality will be born.

The film stars Jeremy Irvine, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Ron Perlman and newcomer Jonny Beauchamp.

“I was always interested and passionate about telling this important story, but I feel it has never been more timely than right now,” Emmerich has said of the 1969 riots in New York, which are widely considered the beginning of the modern LGBT rights movement.

“It was the first time gay people said ‘enough!’ They didn’t do it with leaflets or meetings, they took beer bottles and threw them at cops,” he added. “Something that really affected me when I read about Stonewall was that when the riot police showed up in their long line, these kids formed their own long line and sang a raunchy song. That, for me, was a gay riot, a gay rebellion.”

The Stonewall Inn in Manhattan was declared a New York City landmark last month.

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