Director, Richard shpuntoff

Co-writer, Kelly cogswell

Born and raised in Elmhurst and Jackson Heights, Queens, epicenter of the Rainbow Wars, Richard Shpuntoff is a photographer and filmmaker. His short, prizewinning films have been screened in a number of festivals. His first feature film, Julio of Jackson Heights, explored the 1990 gay bashing murder of Julio Rivera that sparked the beginnings of the Queens LGBTQ movement. Julio was featured in the New York Times, and won the Social Impact Award from the Queen World Film Festival in 2016. His work has been featured at the Queens Museum. He has been invited to screen the film for dozens of universities and LGBT groups. He lives in Buenos Aires with his family.

Kelly Cogswell is a writer, multimedia journalist, and founding member of the Lesbian Avengers, a key player in the Rainbow Wars. Born in Kentucky, she rejects a blue state, red state view of the world. Now the director of a project documenting the Lesbian Avengers, she is also the author of the Lammy-nominated Eating Fire: My Life as a Lesbian Avenger. Her video shorts have appeared in the International Herald Tribune, the Louisville Courier-Journal, and New York's Gay City News. She lectures regularly on social change, activism, and LGBT issues. She has received prizes from the New York Press Association, and lives in New York City and Paris with her partner.