SYNOPSIS
“Our history was disappearing as quickly as we were making it.”
With that realization, Deborah Edel and Joan Nestle co-founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the world’s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians.
For more than 40 years, through many of the major milestones in LGBTQ+ history, the all-volunteer organization has literally rescued history from the trash.
Now the co-founders are in their mid-70s, and the group faces a number of challenges: A transfer of leadership. The rise of digital technology. A renewed call to activism in a politically charged moment.
The Archivettes is a documentary film that explores how this group came together to combat lesbian invisibility and create “a place that says yes.”
(photos by Prisca Edwards)
SELECTED SCREENINGS AND AWARDS
- Outfest (California, 2019)
- GAZE LGBT Film Festival (Ireland, 2019)
- AGLIFF (Texas, 2019)
- Stamped Film Festival (Florida, 2019): Winner, Best Documentary
- Fargo-Morehead LGBT Film Festival (Minnesota, 2019): Winner, Best Feature
- Out! For Reel (Massachusettes, 2019)
- Fresno Reel Pride (California, 2019)
- Reeling Film Festival (Illinois, 2019): Winner, Audience Award
- Out On Film (Georgia, 2019)
- Iris Prize (Wales, 2019)
- Seattle Queer Film Festival (Washington, 2019)
- Provincetown Women’s Week (Massachusetts, 2019)
- Queer Porto, Lisboa (Portugal, 2019)
- Florence Queer Festival (Italy, 2019)
- NewFest (New York, 2019)
- Cinema Politica (Canada, 2019)
- SHOUT: Festival of Queer Arts and Culture (England, 2019)
- Fringe!: Queer Film & Arts Fest (England, 2019)
- Mardi Gras Film Festival (Australia, 2020)
- Glasgow Feminist Film Festival (Scotland, 2020)
- Women Take the Reel (Massachusetts, 2020)
- Cleveland International Film Festival Streams (Ohio, 2020)
- Barcelona International Women’s Film Festival (Spain, 2020)
- Centro Niemeyer LGBTI Festival de Cine (Spain, 2020): Winner, Audience Award
- Melanin Pride Festival (Massachusetts, 2020)
- Damn These Heels Queer Film Festival (Utah, 2020)
- Long Beach Q Film Festival (California, 2020)
- Mix Copenhagen (Denmark, 2020)
- Immaginaria International Festival of Lesbians (Italy, 2020)
- Everybody’s Perfect (Sweden, 2020)
- Ocktober Film Festival (New York, 2020): Winner, Best LGBTQ Film
- Muestra Internacional de Cine Realizado por Mujeres (Spain, 2020)
- Women Make Waves Film Festival (Taiwan, 2020)
- Barcelona International Women’s Film Festival (Spain, 2020)
- Les Gai CineMad (Spain, 2020)
- FanCineGay (Spain, 2020)
- Pink Screens (Belgium, 2020)
- Melbourne Queer Film Festival Interrupted (Australia, 2020)
- New York Lives, BAM (New York, 2021)
- Älvsbyn Film Festival! (Sweden, 2021)
- International Women’s Film Festival (California, 2021)
- La Filmoteca de Extremadura (Spain, 2021)
- Docs Against Gravity (Poland, 2021)
- (Re)visions, Madrid (Spain, 2022)
- Mixed Screen Festival (France, 2022)
- Insumisxs: Montevideo’s first lesbian art festival (Uruguay, 2022)
- In & Out Queer Film Festival (France, 2022)
- Leeds Queer Film Festival (England, 2022)
- Cinema Systers Lesbian Film Festival (Kentucky, 2022)
SELECTED PRESS
- ‘The Archivettes’: Film Review | Outfest 2019: The Hollywood Reporter
- The Women Fighting To Preserve Lesbian Herstory: Out.com
- Outfest 2019 Preview: The Lesbian Herstory Archives, Young Love, Family Drama, & More: Women and Hollywood
DISTRIBUTION
The Archivettes is available for purchase from Women Make Movies.
