Synopsis
Long before YouTube, TikTok, or Instagram, public access was the original platform for unfiltered creativity and community connection — a precursor to today’s social media, where ordinary people could broadcast themselves to their community.
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Made up almost entirely of restored public access footage shot by Austinites over the last 50 years, each clip is a standalone story that reveals the city’s spirit from a new point of view. Among the film’s many characters are Livia, a PhD student turned late-night host whose uncensored sex-and-relationships call-in show became a cult favorite; Carmen Banana, a jovial drag queen whose comedy-variety show became a lifeline for Austin’s gay community during the AIDS crisis; and Gilberto, a young Chicano activist whose camera documented both the gentrification of East Austin and the violence of an infamous 1983 Ku Klux Klan march through the city. Through these rediscovered moments, we watch characters evolve alongside Austin itself, each reflecting the sweeping changes of technology, culture, and an era coming to an end.
DAVID
"My earliest memories of my life were making my Halloween costume," David, now 76, says in a high pitched East-Texan accent. "My twin brother would dress as a pirate, and I would be the pirate's whore. I was always cross-dressing!" In the early 1980's, David Haun and his business partner moved to David's home state. Having worked as silversmiths in San Francisco, their days were spent selling bracelets on the drag, and their nights growing their ever-expanding friend base in Austin's prominent gay community. While reading the Austin Chronicle, David came across an article encouraging artists to become TV producers. "I said, 'Far out!'" he recalls. "Let's do it!" While making his inaugural video in the studio, David noticed an old Halloween costume hanging in the corner. "It was a Carmen Miranda outfit. You know, with a Banana on the head!" And so was born, "Carmen Banana" , Austin's own all-singing, all-dancing TV drag queen.
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His show, "Carmen's Banana Cooking" was a wild and crazy variety show where anything was possible. From knife throwers, to flame spinners, to live bands, Carmen's show was an open forum for Austin's diverse community of performers. As the 1980's marched forward, America's gay community finds themselves dealing with the worst epidemic it has ever seen: AIDS. Realizing the unique power he has a local celebrity, David and his husband/producer Travis, take it upon themselves to use their soapbox as a medium for information. From safe-sex tips, to hosting charity benefits, Carmen uses access as a rallying cry for support. Now in his 80's, Carmen's story is one of laughter, community, and activism.
LIVIA
"When I was Kindergarten", recalls Livia, "We were asked to draw what we wanted to be when we grew up. I drew a picture of a comedian. I think it was Phyllis Diller." In the late 80's, New Jersey Native Livia Squires moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas's highly competitive PhD program in Geophysics. "It was just kind of a job.", Livia laughs about her career plans to work in the petroleum industry . "I figured, I can go to Austin, hang out, get my degree and drink margaritas for four years". During one of her many late night cram sessions, Livia began channel surfing, eventually landing on Austin's Public Access Station. "It was just some guy with a chalkboard behind him looking straight into the camera," she recalls. "I turned to my friend and asked, 'What is this?'And he said, "Oh, that's public access. You can have a show if you want to."
Thus began the transformation of Livia, a funny attractive PhD student, into the star of "Ask Livia LIVE!", a late night romance advice call-in show. Dressed in a nighty, and lounging on a purple satin couch, Livia garnered instant fame for her sharp wit and brutally honest answers. Though her program might appear as just eye candy for college guys, over time, much of her audience was comprised of women. Calling in with questions about cheating husbands, unwanted pregnancies and a litany of other problems, Livia proved to be a big sister to thousands, doling out empowering, proactive advice to the men and women of Austin.
GILBERTO
“I was born at home in East Austin,” says Gilberto Rivera, a Mexican-American man in his mid-seventies. “My umbilical cord was buried in the backyard, as was customary back then. No matter how far I travel, I always end up coming home. My mother always told me that it’s because that piece of me is buried here.” The son of migrant workers, Gilberto noticed the inequities between the Mexican-American neighborhoods in East Austin and the primarily white neighborhoods elsewhere. “My mother would take me door to door in order to get signatures on a petition asking for paved roads.” By 1983, Gilberto had a master’s degree in social work, decades of community organizing experience, a wife, and three children. Looking for a better job, he came across an opening for a “Community Outreach Coordinator” at ACTV. “All the producers were white,” he explains. “They needed somebody to go into the African American and Mexican American neighborhoods and recruit people to be access producers.”
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As development increased in East Austin, he saw long-time residents being pushed out to make way for condominiums. From art to protests, Gilberto made it his goal to document the beauty and culture of his neighborhood before it was too late. The stakes were raised even more in February of 1983, when City Council decided to allow the Ku Klux Klan to march to the capitol. Gilberto decided to document the entire event with his newfound video skills. What promised to be a peaceful counter-protest turned to violence. Now 77, he tells his story of using ACTV to amplify the voice of a side of Austin that is often ignored or forgotten.