Michael Van Devere

PERKINS 28: Testimony from the Secret Court Files of 1920

Michael Van Devere

Nelson Greaves

In 1920, Harvard University convened a secret court to interview, charge and discipline students suspected of being homosexual. Thirty-seven men testified before the Court, including a tutor, an assistant professor, Harvard students, and several Boston men. After two weeks of testimony, eight Harvard men were forced to withdraw, one of whom committed suicide. Based on actual court documents, "Perkins 28" dramatizes the testimony from the Secret Court Files of 1920, nine episodes of testimony before the Court. Filmed in Cambridge, MA, and starring Harvard undergraduates.

Roosevelt's Operative

Michael Van Devere

A Navy recruiter (Nathaniel Grant) recalls the enlistment of sailors during the Navy Sex Scandal in Newport, RI, during 1919.

In a Minor Lustrum

Michael Van Devere

A young man wakes up after an evening revelry to find himself in a forgotten dream. Disoriented by his surroundings, he embraces a Buddha, boxes with a goblin mask, dances in a manskirt, and confronts his desires, all in this evocative jazz short.