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The film introduces us to Taffeta (Roger Q. Mason), a Black, Filipinx, queer, and plus-size stage manager whose vibrant identity is rendered invisible in the beige world of a tired theatrical production about Abraham Lincoln. We first meet them in the thankless shadows of the wings, their expertise and passion met with dismissive nods and patronizing smiles.

The story ignites after a particularly cruel moment of dismissal and abuse from one of the play’s actors, a final humiliation that leaves Taffeta alone in the empty theater. It is in this void, a space of profound frustration and pain, that something transformative happens. Taffeta claims the stage for themself, conjuring a personal “fantasia” from sheer will.

Here, they take control of the narrative, resurrecting the rumored, hidden romance between a young, vital Abraham Lincoln and his devoted companion, Elmer Ellsworth. This reclamation is not a dry academic exercise; it is a desperate,...

The flair for the theatrical is at the core of “Lavender Men.” The film is set in a small theater where a rather mediocre play about Abraham Lincoln is being staged. But no sooner has the proverbial curtain come down on that self-serious proposition (with but a handful of people in the audience) than Lovell Holder’s film, co-written by creator and star Roger Q. Mason, truly begins. Described as a “fantasia” created within the mind of Mason’s Taffeta (the play’s stage manager), “Lavender Men” is a heady and meta-theatrical excavation of Lincoln’s long-rumored gay affair that’s wildly ambitious if a tad overstuffed.

“Lavender Men” began, as seems obvious from its logline, as a play. With Taffeta, a self-described Black, Filipinx, queer plus-size character, Mason devised a theatrical conceit wherein the stage would help recast the sanitized version of Lincoln the U.S. has been presented in schools.

For over a century, historians gazed upon Abraham Lincoln as one of America’s most celebrated leaders—the man who guided the nation through civil war and issued the moving Emancipation Proclamation. But Lincoln’s personal life remained shrouded, hiding intimate friendships that challenge our view of him. Now, new filmmaker Shaun Peterson brings these whispers to light, introducing Lincoln as someone far more relatable.

Lover of Men tells the quiet story of four relationships central to Lincoln’s world. It explores his unlikely bond with Joshua Speed, unfolding like a friendship far beyond norms. We see Lincoln drawn to others too: young Elmer Ellsworth, a spark lighting Lincoln’s final challenging years, and David Derickson, a protector growing close in private hours.

Through letters and snapshots, Peterson pieces together a different picture of Lincoln, one of vulnerable connection. Experts analyze subtle cues from another era, finding clues where once few looked.