The Joy of Life (2005) + Blue Diary (1998)

Co-Presented by Frameline

Introduction and post-screening conversation with filmmaker Jenni Olson

The Joy of Life (2005)

Multitalented performance artist Harriet “Harry” Dodge (By Hook or By Crook, Cecil B. Demented) brings to life this innovative story of a butch dyke in San Francisco searching for love and self-discovery. Against a backdrop of stunning landscape cinematography, this bold, lyrical voiceover film evolves from a lesbian lust story to an inventive documentary—delving into explicit descriptions of lesbian sexuality and offering up a quick look at Frank Capra’s 1941 film Meet John Doe before embarking on the fascinating and previously untold history of the Golden Gate Bridge as a suicide landmark. A true San Francisco experience, The Joy of Life also includes poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti intoning his ode to the City by the Bay, “The Changing Light” and features music from legendary poet-painter (and probable Golden Gate suicide) Weldon Kees.

Blue Diary (1998)

Through voiceover and static San Francisco landscapes, Jenni Olson’s classic 1998 experimental narrative short tells the melancholy story of a dyke pining over a one night stand with a straight girl.

Courtesy of  Frameline Distribution

Part of the series 40 Years of Queer