Documentary Screening of "Lou’s Legacy" & Discussion
This event is open only to National Press Club Members & their guests.
Jun 9 2025
WHEN:
Jun 9, 2025 at 6:00pm
WHERE:
Truman Lounge
CONTACT INFO:
MORE INFO:
Special Event
Join us June 9th at 6:00 pm for an exclusive sneak-preview screening of the new documentary Lou’s Legacy: A Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade. This powerful film tells the story of two Washington, DC icons — journalist Lou Chibbaro Jr. and drag performer Donnell Robinson, best known by the stage name Ella Fitzgerald. Set against decades of LGBTQ activism and cultural change, this 30-minute film offers an intimate look at the lives and legacies of two trailblazers who helped chronicle and shape gay life in the nation’s capital. Following the screening, Lou and the film's director, producer, and writer, Patrick Sammon, will host a bar-side chat.
For nearly fifty years, Lou Chibbaro Jr. has been a pillar of LGBTQ journalism at the Washington Blade, covering stories often overlooked by mainstream media. The film also highlights Donnell Robinson’s four-decade career as Ella Fitzgerald, a legendary drag performer and beloved fixture in DC’s nightlife scene.
As Lou works on a story about Ella’s return to the Capital Pride stage after a three-year hiatus, the film captures the powerful connection between journalism, performance, and community. Through rare archival footage, revealing interviews, and behind-the-scenes moments, Lou’s Legacy is a moving tribute to courage, creativity, and the power of showing up to tell the stories that matter.
Join us for the opportunity to celebrate two local legends and explore the impact of LGBTQ visibility, resilience, and storytelling.
Please submit your reservation to the Reliable Source by emailing [email protected], submitting a reservation via our online "Book a Reservation" form (please notate "attending the documentary screening" in the Special Requests/Notes field), or by calling (202) 662-7443.
Lou Chibbaro Jr. has reported on the LGBTQ community in the nation’s capital for nearly 50 years. Starting at the Washington Blade as a freelance writer in 1976, Chibbaro eventually became a staff reporter and now serves as senior news reporter at the paper. He has chronicled LGBTQ related developments on a wide range of social, religious, and governmental institutions, including the White House, Congress, the U.S. Supreme Court, the military, local and national law enforcement agencies, and the Catholic Church.
In 2011, Chibbaro became the first reporter from the LGBTQ press to be inducted into the Society of Professional Journalists D.C. Professional Chapter's Hall of Fame, which recognizes journalists of distinction who have worked in the news business for 25 years or longer.
Patrick Sammon is the director, producer, and writer of Lou’s Legacy: A Reporter’s Life at the Washington Blade. He is also the co-director and co-producer, with Bennett Singer, of an Emmy-nominated documentary about the remarkable and little-known story of the LGBTQ activists who successfully battled the American Psychiatric Association to remove homosexuality from its manual of mental illnesses in 1973.
Described as “fascinating” by Hollywood Reporter and “one of the best documentaries of this or any year” by the British Film Institute, CURED broadcast nationally on PBS and has attracted more than two million viewers across the globe. Previously, Sammon was the Creator and Executive Producer of CODEBREAKER, an award-winning drama-documentary about the life and legacy of gay British codebreaker Alan Turing that attracted three million viewers worldwide. A graduate of Syracuse University, Sammon started his career as an award-winning television news reporter at CBS affiliates in Northern New York and Northeast Tennessee.