The Nini -Treadwell collection is a love letter to the world.
The approx. 60 min documentary shows a selection of vintage photographs of the accidental collection that are included in the coffee table book published by 5 Continents Editions, Milan, 2019. The book has been properly reviewed by Queerguru here. The collection of photographs is a treasure kept in several albums and properly deposited in a safe place.
The documentary presents carefully selected images from the book and a few that were not included in the publication. Segments of images on which queer favorite objects such as umbrellas, hats, cars, bathing suits, and boots are pictured, harmonized with music (piano, trumpets, swing, blues) there is even a reminiscence of Philip Glass in The Hours.
As time goes by from one image to another in a hundred years period, the viewer reads quotes from James Baldwin, Andy Warhol, Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, Gore Vidal, Oscar Wilde and Ralph Waldo Emerson, and enjoy photography from ambrotypes, tintypes, cabinet cards, postcards, photo strips, photobooths, sepia-tone prints, square format prints, and gelatin silver prints and mainly, learns the 
importance of photographs as documents and as a source of visual storytelling; for instance, the 1902 selfie of a romantic male couple, or the first gay wedding with a Minister and rings, or how pictures from 1890 to 1920 portray a more open and embracing community
The photos were made when the couple chose the moment to be with the one they love and taken in times when people did not approve of that. The first photo of the Nini- Treadwell collection was found in Dallas, Texas, more findings later in Paris, Budapest, New York City, and other European cities, at antique shops, flea markets, family archives, online and at auctions. The images resonate today, men romantically in love in contexts of war and social repression.
In the film, it is delightful how the gaze in their eyes relates to quotes like ”There is no remedy for love but to love more” from Thoreau and “We were together. I forget the rest” from Whitman to phrases written in the back like “Always yours”, “The uncle and his friend”, “I send you a photo that probably will raise the curtain of a little part of my life” or “Ice cream is good on a hot day”.
The edition and camera work allows us to appreciate each picture as a whole and details of it that may be overviewed, check those discreet hints, little gestures of love that show that the two in the portrait are a couple. In various segments, the collectors talk to each other about their findings, favorite photos and express how the chance brought the possibility to share their love and the love of other men as universal. The kiss, from the privacy of the photo booth to all the world to see and cherish.
There will never be any more perfection than there is now. Walt Whitman
The book is a must-have and the documentary a suitable introduction to it. Thanks to Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell for sharing their joy with the rest of us.
Written and directed by David Millbern / Edited by Billy Clift Based on the book “Loving” a Photographic History of Men in Love, 1850s-1950s by Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell
PREMIERING EXCLUSIVELY ON HERE TV. FRIDAY, MARCH 25th
Review by José Mayorga Guatemala, Central America Lawyer and notary public, visual artist and editor of
El Azar Cultural. Lives and works in Guatemala City. Cinema lover, curious about the possibilities life brings and eager
to live the experience.
Labels: 100 Years of Men in Love, 2022, documentary, José Mayorga, queer history, review
