In the mid-20th-century, the Catskills were considered a “home away from home,” a place where city folk could escape the hottest months of the year here in what they began to call the Borscht Belt. The Borscht Belt Museum has taken on the hefty task of preserving that legacy through events, including the second iteration of the Borscht Belt Film Fest, which runs October 31 to November 2.

This year, organizers made an effort to find and highlight some of the more unexpected stories in the mountains. One particular film caught our eye, Casa Susanna, which explores a long-hidden and repressed sect of Borscht Belt culture.

Casa Susanna is no Oz, though the inhabitants of the property surely felt like they weren’t in Kansas anymore. Located in the rural mountains of Jewett in Greene County, about an hour’s drive from Ellenville, Casa Susanna was a gathering place in the early 1960s for what they then called cross-dressers.

Cross-dressing is an antiquated term – we would now refer to these men as gender-nonconforming, which emphasizes that they were focusing not only on the aesthetic aspect of wearing feminine clothing but were exploring aspects of what it meant to be a woman.

Owned and operated by Tito Valenti (aka Susanna) and his wife Maria, the resort wasn’t the first attempt for the couple to establish a space dedicated for this purpose, but it has become an emblem of LGBTQ subculture since it was prolifically photographed over the years it was active.

These men, many of which had successful careers and families, risked everything every time they cross-dressed. Casa Susanna was more than a safe haven for these men – it was a place to explore their identity among a like-minded community.

In the film, which came out in 2022, two former attendees of Casa Susanna, Katherine and Diana, now in their 80s and have since transitioned, revisited the now-run-down property that used to be the home of the legendary resort.

One of the women commented about her experience at the resort: “You can react to people without there being any misunderstanding, without there being any need to say, ‘I know I sound like a man… but deep down I’m a woman,’ there was no need for any of that.”

Many of the guests were supported by their wives, the film points out. They would attend the summer-long getaway with their husbands, whether in the hopes of helping them understand deeper the feminine attributes they were portraying or in the hope that this exposure would provide them the “therapy” they needed to correct what they saw as an ailment, we can’t be sure.

In one heart-wrenching scene, former attendees and a relative scatter Tito and Maria’s ashes on the land where Casa Susanna once stood. It’s what they would have wanted, a relative says.

Casa Susanna, written and directed by Sébastien Lifshitz, is screening on Saturday, November 1 at 2:45 – 4:45 p.m. at Shadowland Stages in Ellenville. Preceding the screening, a short documentary, All About Amy (2014) by Gene Fischer, will be screened. The short depicts the life and struggle of transgender Ellenville resident Amy Hull, a lifelong resident of Ellenville who has been a cab driver for the past few decades.

Around the time Fischer was filming All About Amy, he was also filming Passing Ellenville, which featured Hull and two transgender youths also residing in Ellenville, exploring the challenges of growing up transgender in rural America.

In addition to previewing these select films, we also had a chance to speak to Film Fest honoree Judy Gold, Emmy-winning actor and comedian receiving the Fest’s first ever “Mensch Award,” whose Jewish identity was informed by her experiences watching Borscht Belt comedians as a young comic herself. We also talked to Joel Perez, director of Villa Encanto, a film about the Latino Borscht Belt to be shown at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, November 1.

We asked both actor and director about their perspective on the lasting legacy of Borscht Belt culture and how this informed view can help society at large understand contemporary marginalized communities.

“The Borscht Belt was basically created because of two things: immigration and discrimination. Sound familiar?” Gold replied. “We were banned from country clubs and resorts, so we created our own paradise where we could be unapologetic Jews. In doing so, Jews could go on vacation and act like Jews, eat like Jews, entertain like Jews, laugh like Jews, and be happy. So many Jews today are afraid again, and I see us seeking out Jewish spaces where we can feel safe and supported.”

“The Borscht Belt was an escape for the Jewish community, a respite from the hustle and bustle of city life. But many don't know that the Catskills was also home to Las Villas, a summer oasis for the Latinos of the Northeast where culture and community were celebrated with delicious roast pig and mesmerizing mambo music,” Perez said. “The salsa greats like Tito Puente and Joe Cuba honed their craft at their packed dancehalls and had a lasting effect on what became Latin music as we know it today. Marginalized communities find strength when they can gather together to celebrate their culture. It was true in the 1960s and it's still true now. The Catskills became a home for many diverse communities and shows that our similarities are much greater than our differences.”

The festival will take place in a number of locations in downtown Ellenville from October 31 to November 2. You can purchase tickets at their website (www.borschtbeltfilmfest.org), at Shadowland Stages box office at 157 Canal St, Ellenville, or by calling (845) 647-5511. A full itinerary for the weekend can be found at www.borschtbeltfilmfest.org/films2025.