WATCH: Antique photos chronicle gay male relationships from over 100 years ago in new documentary

Long resigned to living our lives in secret, behind closed doors, the extent of LGBTQ+ history that is untold and undocumented is unfathomable.

But thanks to projects like the documentary 100 Years Of Men In Love: The Accidental Collection, some of those stories are coming to light, photograph by photograph.

Inspired by a book of the same name, 100 Years Of Men In Love gives audiences a closer look at photography archives of married couple Hugh Nini and Neal Treadwell, a selection of found portraits of men from the 1850s to the 1950s.

During that time, male partnerships were often deemed illegal, so the images of (assumed) gay men together—loving, laughing, cuddling, smiling—feels especially radical.

Nini and Treadwell’s collection was deemed “accidental” because they never really thought they were collecting anything. Over the years, they simply began holding onto any image the could find of men showing affecting for one another.

With each visit to an antique shop or a flea market, their collection grew and grew, and the couple eventually realized they needed to share it with the world.

Filmmaker David Millbern tells Nini and Treadwell’s story—as well as those of hundreds of gay couples that came before them—in his hour-long documentary. Speaking with AwardsDaily, he remarks that the film is more than just a montage: “We actually go into each picture, we analyze it, we escape into it.”

Later in the conversation, Millbern elaborates on why these photos—some of which are over 150 years old—matter now, and why the seem to connect so deeply with audiences:

“People are responding to the love, the love that is captured at a time when these men could have been put in prison or lost their entire livelihood. They could have ruined their lives. Yet they felt their love mattered so much that they wanted to capture it. Little did they know those photos would survive and their love would be basically a call to action… The ability to love freely whoever we choose is basically resting on the shoulders of those who showed us the way.”

In these dark times, a film like100 Years Of Men In Love reminds us what we’re fighting for. What we’ve been fighting for.

After playing film festivals, the film made its official premiere last year, and now streams exclusively on premium LGBTQ+ network Here TV (Pro tip: If you’re not already subscribed, Amazon Prime Video offers a free 7-day trial).

You can check out the film’s trailer below: