![\"jewelscatchone](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/jewelscatchone_drone-700x460.jpg\")
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Jewel Thais-Williams stands on the roof of Jewel’s Catch One. Photo courtesy of QFilms.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n In 1972, Jewel Thais-Williams purchased a nondescript strip of real estate near the intersection of Pico and Crenshaw Boulevards in Los Angeles for $18,000.<\/p>\n The premise of her purchase was simple: she wanted to create a disco club for anyone and everyone. She painted the place, blacked out the windows, and made the interior as private as she could for the burgeoning LGBT community in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n Before long, the place evolved into what was known as the \u201cStudio 54 of the West Coast,\u201d complete with a robust LGBT crowd, celebrities and disco queens.<\/p>\n The QFilms Opening Night Selection<\/a>, Jewel\u2019s Catch One<\/em>, traces the beginnings of the legendary dance club, its evolution into a community center through the AIDS crisis, the challenges presented by homophobia, especially the event of one particular alleged arson. But mostly, it hones in on the legacy of Thais-Williams as businesswoman and community healer, who successfully ran one of the rare black-owned LGBT clubs in the country for over 40 years.<\/p>\n With four screenings at various film festivals throughout the country, including Outfest and Provincetown International Film Festival, the documentary will grace the screen of Long Beach\u2019s Art Theatre on Thursday, September 8 at 7:00PM.<\/p>\n RELATED<\/small> <\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re super psyched about Long Beach,\u201d the film\u2019s director, C. Fitz, told the Post<\/em> today. \u201cIt took six years to make, and clientele of the Catch reach into Long Beach\u2026 folks from the Catch have spread out.\u201d<\/p>\n The film will feature a Q&A with Fitz afterward, in addition to appearances that include disco queens Thea Austin (singer of \u201cRhythm is a Dancer\u201d) and Thelma Houston (singer of \u201cDon\u2019t Leave Me This Way\u201d), who were known to frequent the club in its heyday.<\/p>\n Screenshot from feature of a packed crowd for Jewel’s Catch One.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Fitz became drawn to the story of Jewel and her famous nightclub after she was asked to direct a two to three minute film of her life, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cI told her that I was gonna have to make another film, because there was too much to tell to fit into two or three minutes!\u201d said Fitz.<\/p>\n The film has screened to sold-out audiences, something Fitz said is likely due to the universal appeal of the story, especially in a summer with incidents like the mass shooting in Orlando.<\/p>\n At the Rhode Island International Film Festival, the feature was awarded the \u201cFirst Prize\u201d in the \u201cBest Documentary\u201d category, sending the documentary on a journey into the hearts and minds of people beyond LA.<\/p>\n The film makes it clear that Thais-Williams, who married her longtime partner a few years ago and served as the Grand Marshall of this year\u2019s Los Angeles Pride Parade, made in impact beyond the four walls of the disco club to the community at large, even returning to school for a master\u2019s degree in eastern medicine to practice acupuncture within the city.<\/p>\n The club was a bastion of hope and love during the AIDS crisis. Thais-Williams turned her parking lot into a soup kitchen for those affected, and founded the Village Health Foundation for paying and non-paying clients suffering from HIV, heart disease, cancer and other pain-related issues.<\/p>\n Fitz said that moment in the film\u2014though tragic\u2014was her favorite.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s so important shining a light on history and what Jewel did,\u201d said Fitz. \u201cIt\u2019s amazing what one person can do. That\u2019s the moment her story changed into a bigger story.\u201d<\/p>\n An arson fire in 1985, rampant homophobia and inspections by cops, and the city\u2019s refusal to grant Thais-Williams permits spotlight the dark prejudice prevalent in the city and nation\u2019s history, and the recent shootings show the work to be done to this day.<\/p>\n Madonna and Christina Aguilara were frequenting the club in the early 2000s, the documentary shows, with Madonna hosting her album launch party for 2000<\/em> within the club\u2019s halls. Music plays a large role in the film in and of itself, featuring music from many well-known artists\u2014affiliated with disco and dance music\u2014who often hopped over to the club to dance their worries away in a private location, where inclusivity was stressed above all else.\u00a0<\/p>\n Catch One was so well-known in LA that Rep. Maxine Waters event sat in for an interview with Fitz, and is featured in the documentary.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the momentum didn\u2019t last forever. Last summer, Catch One closed, with hefty coverage by the Los Angeles Times<\/em><\/a>, a nod to the ongoing legacy of Thais-Williams.\u00a0<\/p>\n She credited the decline in business to the rise in dating apps and more widespread acceptance, especially in urban centers, of the LGBT community.<\/p>\n \u201cYou know, there\u2019s a point made in the move that Jewel did her job, and she did it so well that there\u2019s less of a need\u2026\u201d said Fitz.<\/p>\n Yet, Thais-Williams isn\u2019t done. After closing Catch One\u2019s doors last summer, Thais-Williams purchased a building that will expand the Village Health Foundation, to continue promoting healing of all forms among the community.<\/p>\n Fitz, a full-time producer and director of marketing and social media content, said she felt lucky to tell Thais-Williams\u2019 story. She decided to create her second feature documentary based on the nightclub because she felt the universal themes throughout the story resonate on a universal scale.<\/p>\n \u201cAt 77, she\u2019s opening a new health center,\u201d said Fitz, with traces of awe in her voice. \u201cPeople want to become feature filmmakers and that\u2019s great. I did it because I had to. I had to serve and get that story on film.\u201d<\/p>\n Jewel’s Catch One will screen at 7:00PM at the Art Theatre on Thursday, September 8. For more information, click here<\/a>.\u00a0For tickets, click here<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n {FG_GEOMAP [33.77198200000001,-118.166965] FG_GEOMAP}<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The QFilms Opening Night Selection, Jewel\u2019s Catch One<\/em>, traces the beginnings of the legendary dance club Jewel’s Catch One, its evolution into a community center through the AIDS crisis, the challenges presented by homophobia and even one particular alleged arson. But mostly, it hones in on the legacy of Jewel Thais-Williams. The Post<\/em> spoke to the film’s director about its themes today.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":154,"featured_media":67154,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","inline_featured_image":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":"","_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_":"","_author_alias":"","cap-aim":"","cap-description":"","cap-display_name":"","cap-first_name":"","cap-jabber":"","cap-last_name":"","cap-linked_account":"","cap-newspack_employer":"","cap-newspack_job_title":"","cap-newspack_phone_number":"","cap-newspack_role":"","cap-user_email":"","cap-user_login":"","cap-website":"","cap-yahooim":"","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_email_html":"","newspack_email_type":"","newspack_featured_image_position":"","newspack_hide_page_title":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_post_subtitle":"","newspack_show_share_buttons":"","newspack_sponsor_byline_prefix":"","newspack_sponsor_disclaimer_override":"","newspack_sponsor_flag_override":"","newspack_sponsor_only_direct":"","newspack_sponsor_url":"","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_show_updated_date":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[898],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-1773","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","tag-qfilms-2016","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/154"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1773"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1773\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/67154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1773"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1773"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1773"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=1773"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/esd\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1773"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\u00a0<\/div>\nQFilms Releases Full Lineup for 2016 Festival, Adds Beach Kickoff Screening of HAIRSPRAY <\/a><\/h2>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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\n![\"JewelsCatchOneHeyDay\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/08\/JewelsCatchOneHeyDay.png\")
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