With Wilton Manors as its beating heart, Broward County is the LGBTQ-embracing heart of Florida. But while we revel in acceptance and inclusion, there was a time when the dream of mere tolerance was a dream denied. 

A new documentary, “Inside the Oasis: The Story of South Florida’s Gay Mecca,” shows Broward’s march from bigotry to embracement. The movie had its world premiere at the Gray Box Theater in Wilton.  

It has tons of archival footage featuring elected and religious leaders railing against the “perversion” taking over in the 1950s and 1960s. Inside the Oasis creator Andy Perrott uses music to connect the viewer’s mind to the era with the same degree of effectiveness as it is used in the classic Forrest Gump. 

The second half of the film is filled with LGBTQ leaders telling their stories. One of them is Norm Kent, a prolific civil rights attorney who loved finding new ways to sue organizations and governments. Kent, who also created media entities including the much respected South Florida Gay News (SFGN), talked with his trademark defiance. 

The documentary took a decade to produce and originally was meant to simply record oral histories of the movement.  

“What’s important is that we retain these stories, this history, all these interviews that we did,” Perrott said. 

The movie reminds viewers of the living history all around us in the trans community, the drag community, the business community, and the politicians that ran as proud, openly gay candidates. 

The movie is narrated by Sharon Gless (Queer As Folk, Cagney & Lacey). She attended the premiere and afterwards stayed to take pictures with fans.