The Man on the Fifth Floor

An intoxicating look inside New York's legendary Chelsea Hotel through the witty, irreverent lens of composer Gerald Busby. ​Swirling around Busby's humorous and heart-breaking life, from his Baptist childhood in Texas to his salvation as a gifted piano prodigy; from gay witch hunts at Yale University in the 50s to gay liberation in New York City in the 70s; from a creative, energetic life inside the legendary Chelsea Hotel to the dawn of the AIDS epidemic, the death of his partner of seventeen years, his descent into crack addiction, the loss of his friends, his money, his career, the film is also a journey through New York's most exhilarating and devastating decades, the 1970s - 1990s. Using interviews and archival footage, it vividly captures the zeitgeist of New York's most creative and tumultuous years, the years that witnessed the dawn of the gay sex revolution, the birth of the disco scene, the world of all-night bars, drugs, street cruising and the anonymous sex in the trucks.

Directed by Jessica R. Robinson, The Man on the Fifth Floor leans on a strong ensemble — Gerald Busby, Larry Kramer, Craig Lucas — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about screen titles of 0.