>>> THE PRIDE PARADE IN CHICAGO IS SUNDAY.

YOU MAY HAVE SEEN THIS ICONIC GAY BAR, NOW PART OF THE DOCUMENTARY ERRING ON PEACOCK.

WHERE LGBTQ WRITES AND THEIR LOVED ONES GO BACK TO THE BUDDING ROMANCE.

>> SLOWLY, I BROUGHT A FEW RECORDS.

>> I COULD NOT WAIT TO GET HOME.

>> I COULD HEAR HIM, NORMALLY COMING UP THE STAIRS.

BY THE TIME HE GOT TO THE SECOND FLOOR, HE WAS MOVING FASTER.

ALMOST RUNNING.

>> JOINING US ARE THE DIRECTOR AND THE OWNERS AND LGBTQ RIGHTS ACTIVISTS.

THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.

YOU FIRST MET IN A BAR AND OPEN ONE OF YOUR OWN, WHAT DOES THIS ADD?

>> IT IS A COMMUNITY CENTER IN A WAY.

WE ALWAYS TRY TO BE ACTIVE WITH ISSUES THAT AFFECTED OUR COMMUNITY.

THAT MADE US A LITTLE BIT DIFFERENT.

IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF NEVER STOPPING AFTER THAT.

>> ALWAYS SOMETHING TO BE INVOLVED IN.

>> YOU ARE HEAVILY INVOLVED, HIV AND AIDS ACTIVIST, WHAT ROLE DID SIDETRACK PLAY IN THAT?

>> NOTHING IMPORTANT IN THE GAY COMMUNITY THAT HAPPEN STARTS IN A BAR.

IN THOSE DAYS, THE ONLY PLACE GAY PEOPLE HAD TO MEET EACH OTHER WERE IN BARS.

THEY WERE HARASSED AT WORK, SUBJECT OF ARRESTS.

WE HAVE ALL BEEN ARRESTED.

IF YOU WERE GAY IN THE 1970s, YOU ARE ARRESTED SIMPLY FOR BEING GAY.

TODAY EVEN, THE BARS PLAY A ROLE , ESPECIALLY IN COMMUNITIES WHO ARE THE MOST ABUSED, TRANS FOLKS.

I AM THRILLED WE HAVE TRANS FOLKS TO GO TO OUR BARS WHO HAVE BATHROOMS WHERE THEY CAN CHANGE CLOTHES.

THE BARS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A SAFE PLACE FOR PEOPLE, WHETHER DURING REGULAR TIMES OR EPIDEMICS.

>> MERCEDES, YOU MADE THIS MOVIE.

THESE FOLKS HAVE PUBLIC LIVES, MAYBE IT TOOK A BIT TO BUILD UP THAT TRUST?

>> THEY OWN THIS INSTITUTION.

BUT, THEIR PUBLIC PERSONAS ARE DIFFERENT FROM THEIR PRIVATE LIVES.

WHEN I APPROACHED THEM TO MAKE A FILM, IT DID TAKE A LITTLE BIT OF CONVINCING.

I THINK THAT THEY WERE APPREHENSIVE ABOUT SHOWING THAT PART OF IT.

A SCENE WHERE THEY WERE IN THE BEDROOM, IT TOOK 18 MONTHS TO BUILD THE TRUST.

I FELT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO SHOW THAT RELATIONSHIP.

I HAVE NEVER SEEN A LOVE STORY ABOUT TWO MEN ON THE SCREEN BEFORE.

>> YOU TALK IN THE DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE NEGATIVE HIV TEST IN THE 1980s.

THE CRUELTY OF WATCHING IT TAKE ITS TOLL.

HOW DO YOU KEEP THE MEMORY OF THOSE WHO ARE NOT WITH US ALIVE?

>> AT FIRST, YOU LOOK AT YOUR ROLODEX AND TAKE NAMES OUT OF THEM, FRIENDS YOU HAVE LOST.

I HAVE LEARNED THROUGH THE YEARS, I FEEL LIKE WE SHOULD REMEMBER THEM.

NEVER FORGET.

WE SHOULD SMILE WHEN WE THINK ABOUT THEM.

THE GOOD MOMENTS AND THE GREAT MOMENTS.

THEY WERE A GIFT.

>> ONE OF THE GIFTS WAS LOOKING BACK AT ARCHIVAL FOOTAGE OF FRIENDS WHO ARE GONE, EMPLOYEES WHO ARE GONE, I DID NOT WANT TO THINK ABOUT IT BECAUSE IT WAS SO PAINFUL.

SHE TAUGHT ME THE IMPORTANCE OF TALKING TO OUR FRIENDS, REMEMBERING THEM.

WITH THIS FILM , IT HAS TAUGHT US ONCE AGAIN HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO REMEMBER OUR FRIENDS.

>> YOU MENTIONED HOW INVOLVED THEY ARE IN THE CHICAGO COMMUNITY.

YOU SPENT A LOT OF TIMES DOING RESEARCH.

HOW DO YOU SEE THIS FIGHT FOR QUEER RIGHTS IN CHICAGO IS DIFFERENT THAN THE ONES IN THE COAST?

>> ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS WE WANTED TO TELL THE STORY, IT TELLS ABOUT LGBTQ+ HISTORY NOT ON THE COAST, THE CHICAGO STORY IS UNIQUE.

THE SCRAPPY WAY THEY WENT ABOUT FIGHTING FOR THESE RIGHTS.

CONVINCING ALDERMEN TO VOTE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ISSUES.

IT WAS AN IMPORTANT CONTRIBUTOR.

>> COMING UP ON THE END OF OUR TIME, WE ARE HERE IN JUNE, WHAT DOES PRIDE MONTH MEAN TO YOU?

>> IT IS GREAT DUALITY.

IT IS A CELEBRATION OF HOW FAR WE HAVE COME.

WHEN WE STARTED, YOU WOULD BE FIRED FOR BEING GAY.

ATTACKS ON OUR COMMUNITY THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY.

IF WE HAVE TO FIGHT THESE FIGHTS AGAIN, WE WILL DO THAT AND WIN THEM AGAIN.

>> THAT IS WHERE WE WILL HAVE