It was narrated by author Rita Mae Brown, directed by Greta Schiller, co-directed by Robert Rosenberg, and co-produced by John Scagliotti and Rosenberg, and Schiller.

It premiered at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and was released in the United States on June 27, 1985.

In 1999, producer Scagliotti directed a companion piece, After Stonewall.

[1] To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots in 2019, the film was restored and re-released by First Run Features in June 2019.

[4][5][6] Before Stonewall was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1985 Sundance Film Festival.