While waiting for her divorce papers, a repressed literature professor finds herself unexpectedly attracted by a carefree, spirited young woman named Cay.
An American-born Jewish adolescent, Hannah Stern, is uninterested in the culture, faith and customs of her relatives. However, she begins to revaluate her heritage when she has a supernatural experience that transports her back to a Nazi death camp in 1941. There she meets a young girl named...
Examines the relationship between sex, women, and the role of female sexuality in popular Hollywood culture, focusing on Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, Jean Harlow, and Sharon Stone.
This movie contains three short stories dealing with the theme of homosexuality. In "A Friend of Dorothy", a woman joins the Navy during the 1950's and discovers lesbianism. In "Mr. Roberts", a teacher in a 1970's classroom struggles with his closeted gay status. Finally in "Amos and Andy", a...
Using rare footage and exclusive interviews with filmmakers from all over the globe, "Reel Herstory" corrects the historic notion that women behind the scenes in motion pictures held peripheral careers compared with their male counterparts.
Three novels - three dramatic stories in the walls of the women's prison. The first story - a brand new, first went to prison inmates. The second - about a mother whose son has ceased to go to prison for visits. The third - about the experiences of women on the eve of its release.
A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, from 1947 to 2005, Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" to "Brokeback Mountain". Talking heads, anchored by critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich, are interspersed with an advancing timeline and with clips from two dozen...
Drama about a happily married career woman who falls victim to a management power play involving sexual harassment by her sports-equipment company's in-house lawyer.
An improvised late '60s short-subject student film, and debut movie of Charles Burnett, done in the neo-realist, documentary film style. A day-in-the-life South Central L.A. tale about a rag-tag group of unemployed black male pals.
Women in Love: Helen Shaver and Patricia Charbonneau on Desert Hearts
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DESERT HEARTS depended on the connection between its two lead actors, Patricia Charbonneau and Helen Shaver, and on their trust in director Donna Deitch. In the following program, made by the Criterion Collection in New York in 2017, the actors and the director discuss the making of the film, the...
Remembering Reno: Reflections on the Making of Desert Hearts
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Filmed in Los Angeles in August 2017, director Donna Deitch, cinematographer Robert Elswit and production designer Jeannine Oppewall discuss their collaboration in creating the look of DESERT HEARTS.
Donna Deitch directed this documentary about the illness and death of her friend, actress Gwen Welles (Nashville). Diagnosed with an cancerous tumor in 1992, Welles chose not to go for conventional treatments, and the film shows her deterioration. Shot on video with a later transfer to 16mm, this...
Based on interviews with 15 women, including directors, producers and film actresses, a journey around the world is made, seeing the wars waged by each one against economic and political repression, bombs, police dogs, censors, etc. Images from England, New York, Brazil, South Africa.
Once upon a Mayjune (1969) many of the people of Berkeley planted a part of a vacant land with trees and flowers and other living things for children and other living people... —D. D.