Sally
Sat
3
Sat 3 May 4:30 PM
Platform Arts (Courthouse)
General Admission
95 Mins
May
Sally Gearhart was a lesbian-feminist firebrand, professor, and fantasy author who helped transform the world for gay people—but too few folks know of this “hidden figure.” This film celebrates Sally’s dynamism and complexity, as well as the collective (if chaotic) nature of revolutionary movements and their icons.
On the surface, the documentary is about Sally Miller Gearhart, an iconoclastic radical lesbian who lived life on her own terms. However, the film goes beyond being the straightforward biography of a “hidden figure” deserving more recognition. It also studies social movements, whose leaders wouldn’t exist without their equally resolute behind-the-scenes compatriots.
The film examines several issues including:
The need for women’s spaces: Throughout her life, Sally thrived in women’s spaces such as her women’s land community in Northern California where she spent her final decades. These spaces provided refuge from a patriarchal system that constrained women to a limited sphere. But besides providing respite, these women’s spaces enabled Sally and others to come into their own.
The tensions in revolutionary movements: The film also explores the tensions inherent in revolutionary movements between ideological principles and human realities: In Sally’s case there was lesbian separatism versus mainstreaming, throwing down the gauntlet versus reaching across the aisle. Sally’s relevance lies in how well she held these contradictions.
On the surface, the documentary is about Sally Miller Gearhart, an iconoclastic radical lesbian who lived life on her own terms. However, the film goes beyond being the straightforward biography of a “hidden figure” deserving more recognition. It also studies social movements, whose leaders wouldn’t exist without their equally resolute behind-the-scenes compatriots.
The film examines several issues including:
The need for women’s spaces: Throughout her life, Sally thrived in women’s spaces such as her women’s land community in Northern California where she spent her final decades. These spaces provided refuge from a patriarchal system that constrained women to a limited sphere. But besides providing respite, these women’s spaces enabled Sally and others to come into their own.
The tensions in revolutionary movements: The film also explores the tensions inherent in revolutionary movements between ideological principles and human realities: In Sally’s case there was lesbian separatism versus mainstreaming, throwing down the gauntlet versus reaching across the aisle. Sally’s relevance lies in how well she held these contradictions.
May
Platform Arts (Courthouse)
Cnr Little Malop Street and Gheringhap Street
Geelong, Victoria, 3220