Forty years after its release, Donna Dietch’s 1950s set romance remains one of the most influential and beautifully shot lesbian films of all time.
Dietch would change the trajectory of lesbian cinema with the release of her first feature Desert Hearts in 1985. Made independently on a shoestring budget, Dietch set out to make the first film which would grant its lesbian lovers a happy ending.
Set in 1959 and adapted from the Jane Rule novel Desert of the Heart, the film follows a blossoming romance between the uptight professor, Vivian (Helen Shaver), who arrives in Reno, Nevada from the East Coast to legalise her divorce, and the free-spirited Cay (Patricia Charbonneau) who works in the Casinos where she fends off the advances of men and seduces women.
Dietch’s iconic twist on The Misfits blends the best tropes from sweeping Hollywood romances and 1950s lesbian pulp novels which alongside Robert Elswit’s breathtaking cinematography and a nostalgic jukebox soundtrack makes Desert Hearts a must-see landmark in queer filmmaking. Released the same year as My Beautiful Laundrette, 1985 would mark a turning point in the way LGBTQ+ stories were being told in film. This screening is co-curated by film curator and event producer, Rosie Beattie as part of Other Ways of Seeing, with support from BFI Awarding Funds from National Lottery in partnership with Queer Vision.
The film will be presented in a 4K restoration supervised by cinematographer Robert Elswit and created by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project and the Sundance Institute, courtesy of Criterion and Park Circus.
With an introduction by film curator and event producer, Rosie Beattie.
-
Special offers:
Booking for more than 10 events/screenings?
Buy a Cinema Rediscovered Festival Pass (£120 full / £100 concessions / £80 24 and under) and select your tickets for as many of the 80+ screenings and events during the festival as you want.
Booking for between 4 to 10 events/screenings?
Multi-Ticket Package Offer: get 20% off the regular ticket price when you book 4-10 Cinema Rediscovered screenings and/or events. The discount will automatically apply when you add the tickets to your basket.
Club Shed members get 20% off all individual Cinema Rediscovered tickets.