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ENDED
SAPPH-O-RAMA LESBIAN CULT MOVIES

While mainstream cinema has generally presented gay women as peripheral stereotypes - or avoided lesbian representations altogether - a few movies have used more imagination and originality, whether in capturing the reality of lesbian experience or creating fantastical "exotic" speculations (often intended to titillate a male audience). Culled from many genres and categories (noir, camp, documentary and horror, lesbian vampires being a particularly popular subgenre), whether graphic or more subtly "encoded," these films have earned cult status from their (sometimes misguided) explorations of sexual identity and relationships between women.

NOTE: On days that have a double feature, ticket sales are based on our Double Features Ticket Sales Policy

For a complete schedule of the series

NY LESBIAN & GAY FILM FESTIVAL

For more lesbian & gay film events, check out the 12th annual New Festival June 1 - 11. Call (212) 254-7228 ext 10 for schedule & venue information, or visit their website at www.newfestival.org
(The Website Is Now Up!).

Programmed by Michael Sayers

With special thanks to Claire Terraciano & Jennifer Stott, and Gary Palmucci & Jessica Rosner (Kino International), Shari Roxenberg (Janus Films), Erika Vogt (Women Make Movies), Marc Mauceri (First Run Features), Carla Ornelas (Miramax), Scott Kelly, Linda Palmer & Mary Tallungen (Buena Vista Distribution), Paul Pearlman (Fine Line), Michael Silberman (USA Films), Nancy Gerstman & Emily Russo (Zeitgeist Films), Susan Wrubel (New Yorker Films), Linda Evans-Smith & Marilee Womack (Warner Bros.), John Kirk (MGM Distribution), Mike Thomas.

Links:

For selection from Amazon.com

For a complete schedule of the series
MADCHEN IN UNIFORM
FRI & SAT, MAY 26 & 27

MÄDCHEN IN UNIFORM

(1931, Leontine Sagan) Landmark exploration of Prussian authoritarianism (later banned by Goebbels) at a girls boarding school and a new student's desperate, overpowering love for her enigmatic, maternal schoolmistress - with an enlightened viewpoint several decades ahead of its time. "One of the few films to have an inherently gay sensibility, it is also one of the most central to establishing a history of lesbian cinema." - B. Ruby Rich.
1:35, 5:30, 9:25

THE CHILDREN'S HOUR

THE CHILDREN'S HOUR

(1961, William Wyler) College pals Audrey Hepburn and Shirley MacLaine, now running a boarding school for girls, face accusations of you-know-what from a spiteful, emotionally disturbed child. Wyler's second film version of Lillian Hellman's play (infinitely more explicit than his earlier These Three) was groundbreaking in its treatment of a hitherto taboo subject. Screenplay by Rear Window's John Michael Hayes.
3:30, 7:25

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FORBIDDEN LOVE
SUN, MAY 28

FORBIDDEN LOVE

(1992, Aerlyn Weissman, Lynn Fernie) "Theirs was a love no man could share!" Gay women who came of age and out of the closet in the 50s and 60s look back at the underground subculture of their youth, including illicit gathering spots and Eisenhower-era pulp fiction - lesbian style. "Celebratory, heroic and infectiously funny... undeniably compelling." - Variety.
1:00, 4:05, 7:10, 10:15

PARIS WAS A WOMAN

(1995, Greta Schiller) "The only personality I would like to write about... is Paris," claimed Gertrude Stein - who wasn't alone in falling under the spell of the vibrantly creative Left Bank between the wars. Writers Djuna Barnes and Colette, photographers Berenice Abbott and Giselle Freund, booksellers Sylvia Beach and Adrienne Monnier were just a handful of the women (many lesbian or bisexual) who formed a thriving société des femmes of intellectuals and artists.
2:40, 5:45*, 8:50*
*Andrea Weiss, the writer & producer of PARIS WAS A WOMAN will briefly introduce the 5:45 & 8:50 screenings and do a brief Q & A following the 5:45 show. Ms. Weiss is also the author of VAMPIRES AND VIOLETS, an excellent book on Lesbians in Cinema, which is available at our concession stand for $12.50 (tax included).

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MON, MAY 29

ARZNER'S THE WILD PARTY

Lesbian director Dorothy Arzner's early talkie THE WILD PARTY (1929) will be shown on Mon, May 29, as part of our Clara Bow Festival.

TUES, MAY 30

GO FISH

(1994, Rose Troche) Guinevere Turner's "carefree single lesbo" finds the dating scene as complicated as ever, even with the help of sardonic roommate T. Wendy McMillan, in indie sleeper examining sexual politics, stereotypes, gender identity, and the psychology of haircuts - not to mention nailcutting as foreplay.
2:00, 5:20, 8:40 THE WATERMELON WOMAN

THE WATERMELON WOMAN

(1997, Cheryl Dunye) Video clerk/filmmaker-wannabe Cheryl Dunye, fixated on the career of a Hattie McDaniel-type character actress of the 1930s, finds herself on a comic fact-finding mission. "A wonderfully inventive journey through the annals of film history, African American culture, dyke attitudes, race relations and the mysteries of lesbian attraction. Did I mention this is a comedy, too?" - B. Ruby Rich.
3:40, 7:00, 10:20

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WED, MAY 31

SHOW ME LOVE

(1998, Lukas Moodysson) "Fucking Åmål" (the original title), mutter Swedish teens of their one-horse town, but amid the boredom Elin and Agnes find each other at a one-guest birthday party. Still unsung here, Moodysson's debut captures with devastating accuracy the tedium, loneliness and casual cruelty of adolescence, broke box-office records in Sweden and swept native Oscars and Berlin Film Fest honors.
1:00, 2:50, 4:40, 6:30, 8:20, 10:10

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THURS, JUNE 1
DESERT HEARTS

DESERT HEARTS

(1985, Donna Deitch) Uptight Columbia professor Helen Shaver goes West to Reno-vate, but she didn't reckon on chatty ranch owner's daughter Patricia Charbonneau and "the sweatiest love scene since the adoption of plastic seat covers" (Washington Post). Debut feature for writer-director Deitch.
1:00, 4:40, 8:20

FIRE

(1997, Deepa Mehta) "Desire is the root of all evil!" Frustrated New Dehli newlywed Nandita Das becomes torn between tradition and her desire for self-/sexual fulfillment, as she's drawn towards her older sister-in-law, Shabana Azmi (recent winner of her fifth Indian Best Actress Oscar equivalent). "Adultery, masturbation and lesbianism...this taboo-breaking Indian film has 'em all." - Time Out.
2:45, 6:25, 10:05

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THE VAMPIRE LOVERS
FRI, JUNE 2

THE VAMPIRE LOVERS

NEW 35MM PRINT! (1970, Roy Ward Baker) New-in-town Eurobombshell Ingrid Pitt - a perfect 10 (except maybe for those darn fangs) - hankers for the local lasses, and her unholy lust keeps the body count climbing. Sumptuous rendition of LeFanu's Carmilla from veteran Hammer helmsman Baker, with Peter Cushing and Jon (Macbeth) Finch as reluctant vampire hunters. Complete, uncut European version.
1:20, 4:50, 8:20

DAUGHTERS OF DARKNESS

(1971, Harry Kümel) Honeymooners at a deserted seaside motel fend off amorous and deadly advances of elegant Dietrich-like vampire Delphine (Last Year at Marienbad) Seyrig and her insecure, child-like lover Andrea Rau. "Brings the myth's kinkier aspects to the fore in their full glory...gorgeous, absolutely bloody gorgeous." - Time Out.
3:00, 6:30, 10:00

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CAGED
SAT, JUNE 3

CAGED

(1950, John Cromwell) "Pile out, you tramps! It's the end of the line!" Mayhem in the big doll house, as innocent pregnant teen Eleanor Parker faces off with hardened inmates, brutal matrons and kindly warden Agnes Moorehead. "An astonishing amount of lesbianism...a total underworld, corrupting and brilliantly drawn." - Vito Russo.
1:30, 5:30, 9:30

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

WALK ON THE WILD SIDE

NEW 35MM PRINT! (1962, Edward Dmytryk) "A side of life you never expected to see on the screen!" Texas boy Laurence Harvey (!) heads to New Orleans to find lost love Capucine, now "kept" by hard-ass brothelkeeper Barbara Stanwyck, Hollywood's first major star to portray a clearly identified lesbian character. With a memorable opening sequence (Saul Bass titles over a ferociously frenzied, fur-flying, feline fracas), hash-slinging Mexicana Anne Baxter, and Jane Fonda as the slinky, immoral "Kitty Twist."
3:20, 7:20

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SUN, JUNE 4

THE BITTER TEARS OF PETRA VON KANT

(1972, R.W. Fassbinder) Imprisoned in a room dominated by fleshy nudes and ghastly white mannequins, Hanna Schygulla, Margit Carstensen, and Eva Mattes act out a claustrophobic, supercharged melodrama of sado-masochistic passion. "A tragic love story disguised as a lesbian slumber party in high camp drag." - Molly Haskell.
1:30, 5:25, 9:20

SEDUCTION: THE CRUEL WOMAN

(1985, Elfi Mikesch & Monika Treut) Stylish, kinky and twistedly Teutonic tale of a gallery owner and her ensemble of fetishists and role-players, revelling in its S&M while maintaining a perversely satiric tone. With Udo Kier as a very obedient, leather-clad "servant." "The most sophisticated lesbian film I've ever seen." - C. Carr, Village Voice.
3:45, 7:40

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MON, JUNE 5

CLARA BOW Film Series on Mondays


TUES, JUNE 6

ALL OVER ME

(1997, Alex Sichel) In what feels like an after-school special directed by Abel Ferrara, Hell's Kitchen high-schooler Alison Folland falls hard for her cokehead best friend Tara Subkoff, but she's crazy about that murderous, psycho homophobe Cole Hauser. HIGN ART
1:00, 4:35, 8:10

HIGH ART

(1998, Lisa Cholodenko) Leaky pipes bring brainy young editor Radha Mitchell in touch with the upstairs neighbors: junk-snorting, photographer-in-hiding Ally Sheedy (pre-Hedwig) and her girlfriend, ex-Fassbinder cohort, German nihilist/addict Patricia Clarkson. "Smart and stylish." - B. Ruby Rich.
2:40, 6:15, 9:50

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BORN IN FLAMES
WED, JUNE 7

BORN IN FLAMES

(1983, Lizzie Borden) Ten years after a successful socialist revolution, and the oppression of women still lives on; but black lesbian construction worker Jeanne Satterfield, radio broadcaster Honey, and bike-riding feminist vigilantes team up to fight. Agitprop with a sense of humor, and a non-stop musical score - a multi-year labor of love for Borden (real name Linda).
1:30, 4:55, 8:20

WORKING GIRLS

(1986, Lizzie Borden) Just a day in the lives of call girls working out of a Manhattan apartment, as Louise Smith's Molly leaves her female lover in the morning for another day "at the office": shop talk, camaraderie, and tedium; dealing with the madam; johns of all sizes, ages and shapes; and endlessly ringing phones. "The cold reality of Borden's vision is reminiscent of Frederick Wiseman." - Time Out.
3:10, 6:35, 10:00

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THURS, JUNE 8

HEAVENLY CREATURES

(1994, Peter Jackson) In ever-so-British 50s New Zealand, Mario Lanza-loving schoolgirls Melanie Lynskey and Kate Winslet (in their debuts) build their own elaborate fantasy world; but then Lynskey's mom nixes their trip to England together - big mistake! Winslet's character was revealed to be best-selling Victorian mystery writer Anne Perry.
2:40, 6:20, 10:00

BUTTERFLY KISS

(1995, Michael Winterbottom) Pierced, chain-clad psycho drifter Amanda Plummer finds girl of her dreams in sheltered mini-mart clerk Saskia Reeves, taking her on the road for a murderous rampage across England. "A taut work of rigor and complexity, laced with flashes of pitch-dark humor!" - Los Angeles Times.
1:00, 4:40, 8:20

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BOUND
FRI, JUNE 9

BOUND

(1996, The Wachowski Brothers) Ultravixen gangster's gal Jennifer Tilly, head over heels for great-with-powertools ex-con Gina Gershon, spies her escape in beau Joe Pantoliano's stash of two million in brain-splattered hundreds. From the directors of The Matrix.
2:00, 6:00, 10:00

FRENCH TWIST

(1995, Josiane Balasko) Tired of her hubby's constant philandering and neglect, Almodóvar fave Victoria Abril finds a more attentive partner in a cigar-smoking, no-nonsense lesbian DJ (director Balasko) whose van breaks down on her upscale, suburban doorstep. This savagely farcical ménage a trois was France's official entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. "The lesbian love story of the year!" - Raymond Murray.
4:00, 8:00

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SAT, JUNE 10

THE KILLING OF SISTER GEORGE


(1968, Robert Aldrich) "Not all girls are raving bloody lesbians, you know!" "That's a misfortune of which I'm perfectly well aware." Notorious adaptation of the West End stage hit, with Beryl Reid, beloved nurse of the BBC soap Applehurst, contemplating both the demise of her tv character and the loss of girlish lover Susannah York to smooth operator Coral Browne. "Tour de force bitchiness and hysteria, like an installment in the Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? saga." - Time Out (London).
1:15, 4:00, 6:45, 9:30

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THE FOX
SUN, JUNE 11

THE FOX

(1968, Mark Rydell) "You've never had a man - I think that's your problem." Lovers Sandy Dennis and Anne Heywood, sequestered in an isolated farmhouse in Canada, run into trouble when one of them secretly yearns for Keir (2001) Dullea. From the D.H. Lawrence novella.
1:00, 5:15, 9:40 THERESE AND ISABELLE

THERESE AND ISABELLE

(1967, Radley Metzger) Mädchen in Uniform in the Permissive 60s, as softcore maestro Metzger adapts La Batard, Violette Leduc's unexpurgated memoir about young love at a French boarding school for girls. A groundbreaker for its nonjudgmental and erotic depiction of a lesbian relationship.
3:00, 7:20

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MON, JUNE 12

CLARA BOW Film Series on Mondays


TUES, JUNE 13

CALAMITY JANE

(1953, David Butler) Doris Day, as the legendary frontier gal, stalks around in forage cap, buckskinned leather pants and cowboy boots, all the while outshootin' Howard Keel's Wild Bill Hickock and warbling "Secret Love." QUEEN CHRISTINA
2:50, 6:30, 10:10

QUEEN CHRISTINA

(1933, Rouben Mamoulian) "I will die a bachelor," boasts Greta Garbo as the peace-loving, progressive, probably lesbian Swedish monarch. Garbo's ex-lover John Gilbert is the nominal leading man - but her on-the-mouth kiss with her lady-in-waiting, her cross-dressing, her "masculine" will, defiance and swagger arguably express a more accurate portrait of the cultured, cloistered queen.
1:00, 4:40, 8:20

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THE HUNGER
WED, JUNE 14

THE HUNGER

(1983, Tony Scott) With dry rot getting to bloodsucking partner David Bowie, chic New Wave Euro-vampire Catherine Deneuve seeks new longtime companion in alluring age researcher Susan Sarandon - their ensuing love scene was a shocker, inspiring a lesbian magazine to name itself after the French actress. (She sued and won.)
1:30, 5:35, 9:45

PERSONAL BEST

(1982, Robert Towne) Budding pentathlete Mariel Hemingway
is pushed past the limit by gung ho coach Scott Glenn and mentored and loved by fellow jock (and actual Olympic hurdler) Patrice Donnelly. Ace scripter Robert Towne's (Chinatown, Shampoo) directing debut is a paean to women's athleticism, both in gym shorts and out.
3:20, 7:30

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THE BRANDON TEENA STORY
THURS, JUNE 15

THE BRANDON TEENA STORY

(1998, Susan Muska, Greta Olafsdottir) A year before BOYS DON'T CRY, this startling documentary focused on the life of the young Nebraska woman brutally murdered because of her transsexuality, highlighted by interviews with the principals - including girlfriend Lana and her two assailants.
2:50, 6:20, 9:50

HIDE AND SEEK
& Lesbian Shorts

Hide and Seek (1996, Su Friedrich) celebrates lesbian childhoods with archival footage, educational films, interviews and re-enactments, punctuated by mid-60's pop music. Jodie: An Icon (1996, Pratibha Parmar) shows how Ms. Foster's role choices and extremely guarded private life have made her a lesbian cult figure. Greetings From Africa (1994, Cheryl Dunye) tackles dating and potential involvement.
1:00, 4:30, 8:00

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Vampires and Violets; Lesbians in Film by Andrea Weiss
Vampires and Violets;
Lesbians in Film
by Andrea Weiss
(also available at
our concession stand)		 Chick Flicks: Theories and Memories of the Feminist Film Movement by B. Ruby Rich
Chick Flicks:
Theories and Memories
of the Feminist Film Movement
by B. Ruby Rich		 Images in the Dark: An Encyclopedia of Gay and Lesbian Film and Video by Raymond Murray
Images in the Dark:
An Encyclopedia of Gay
and Lesbian Film and Video
by Raymond Murray
The Celluloid Closet: Homosexuality in the Movies by Vito Russo
The Celluloid Closet:
Homosexuality in the Movies
by Vito Russo		 Uninvited: Classical Hollywood Cinema and Lesbian Representability by Patricia White
Uninvited:
Classical Hollywood Cinema
& Lesbian Representability
by Patricia White		 Queer Looks: Perspectives on Lesbian and Gay Film and Video by Martha Gever, Pratibha Parmar, John Greyson (Editor)
Queer Looks:
Perspectives on Lesbian
and Gay Film and Video
by Martha Gever, Pratibha Parmar,
John Greyson (Editor)
Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers: A History of Lesbian Life in Twentieth Century America by Lillian Faderman
Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers:
A History of Lesbian Life in
Twentieth Century America
by Lillian Faderman		 Visual and Other Pleasures (Theories of Representation and Difference) by Laura Mulvey
Visual and Other Pleasures
(Theories of Representation
and Difference)
by Laura Mulvey		 Gender Trouble: Tenth Anniversary Edition by Judith P. Butler
Gender Trouble:
Tenth Anniversary Edition
by Judith P. Butler
Parker & Hume: A Lesbian View by Julie Glamuzina, Alison J. Laurie (Contributor), B. Ruby Rich (Introduction)
Parker & Hume:
A Lesbian View
by Julie Glamuzina,
Alison J. Laurie (Contributor),
B. Ruby Rich (Introduction)		 Not Shown:

Alice Doesn't: Feminism, Semiotics, Cinema
by Teresa De Lauretis

Drawing the Line: Lesbian Sexual Politics on the Wall
by Susan Stewart

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