In Zürich in the mid-1950s, shy young teacher Ernst Ostertag joins the underground gay organization Der Kreis (The Circle). Founded in the 1930s, The Circle was the only gay association that had survived the Nazi period in Europe, serving as a model for similar organizations in many other countries. Through the group, Ernst meets the transvestite star Röbi Rapp – and immediately falls head over heels in love with him.

Röbi and Ernst live through the high point and the eventual decline of the Circle, which in the whole of Europe is seen as the pioneer of gay emancipation. Ernst finds himself torn between his bourgeois existence and his commitment to homosexuality, while for Röbi, this is his first serious love relationship…one that will last a lifetime.

When the repression of homosexuality intensifies in Zürich, these two very different young men fight for their love and – together with their friends – for gay rights. The film looks back from the present, to the mid-century high point of the “mother” of all European homosexual organizations, to the time it slowly fell apart.

L.A. Outfest – Grand Jury Award – Best Documentary Feature
Chicago International Film Festival – Audience Choice Award
Berlin International Film Festival – Teddy (Best Gay-Themed Film), Best Documentary/Essay Film and Panorama Audience Award for Documentary Film
Torino International Gay & Lesbian Film Festival – Best Feature Film

The Circle (Der Kreis)
Documentary, romance, thriller – NR – 102 min – Tickets $8 – Get tickets online
Fri, Jan 9: 7:00 p.m.
Sat, Jan 10: 7:00
Sun, Jan 11: 5:00
Mon, Jan 12: 7:00
Tues, Jan 13: 7:00
Wed, Jan 14: 7:00
Thurs, Jan 15: 7:00