Sapphic Cinema - In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction (2022, NR)

Presented by Dropping Hairpins Project

Sapphic Cinema, a Dropping Hairpins Project 501(c)(3)-led program, is designed to showcase sapphic and gender-diverse stories to audiences in cities and states that don’t always get access to queer, progressive media.

CALS is proud to host Sapphic Cinema, a Dropping Hairpins Project 501(c)(3)-led program designed to showcase sapphic and gender-diverse stories to audiences in cities and states that don’t always get access to queer, progressive media. Each Sapphic Cinema program features a film screening and talkback with an associate of the film.

In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction charts a literary journey from post-war lesbian pulp to modern bestsellers. Highlighting the successful and controversial, directors Lisa Marie Evans and Marianne K. Martin skillfully delve into stories that defined eras of lesbian writers, and the changing socio-political landscapes that encouraged an evolution of the genre. In Her Words: 20th Century Lesbian Fiction pays loving tribute to this evolution of lesbian and queer fiction, told through a lens of broader American history.

Starting in 1928, readers fell into The Well of Loneliness — a groundbreaking lesbian novel, albeit a tragic one. By the late 1990s, lesbian fiction had climbed out of the well and into a diverse world of stories and storytellers who were publishing increasingly multifaceted stories (some of them even happy ones). This film will inspire lit lovers of any age to return to old favorites, while igniting curiosity for a new literary tryst or two.

After the film, hear from film Co-Director, Editor, and Animator Lisa Marie Evans for a live Q&A. Evans was a keynote speaker at VIII Gendercom: the International Conference on Gender & Communication held in Viterbo, Italy in 2022. She received a grant from the US Embassy in Rome to support the 2024 International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia and the advancement of the LGBTQI+ policies, including a screening of In Her Words at Sapienza University in Rome.

Evans received the 2024 Artists 360 award and was a 2021 recipient of the Arkansas Arts Council’s Fellowship in Cinematic Arts.She debuted an animation to accompany a bassoon performance by Lia Uribe of Fernando Fernández's Enredadas Alegrías at the 2023 International Double Reed Society conference in Bangkok, Thailand. Evans co-produced Beyond Belief: Three Stories of Faith in Action,part of a 2016 national initiative funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in partnership with Kansas City PBS.

Over the past 20 years, Evans has mentored hundreds of multidisciplinary artists. Since 2020, she has overseen the distribution of over 1.2 million dollars to 235+ creatives. Currently, she is the Director of the Artists Creative Fund (ACF) with CACHE where she designs and leads ACF funding, project support and professional development programming for Tulsa, OK artists.

Important Information

Film Start Time:
Doors open at 6:00pm, and the film will begin promptly at 7:00pm. As our films are general admission seating, please be sure to arrive early to secure your seat. Beer, wine, and concessions will be available.

Free Parking:
We’re pleased to offer complimentary parking for all attendees. Simply bring your parking ticket from the library parking lot (across from the Main Library on Rock Street) or the parking deck (next to the Main Library on Rock Street) inside the theater, and our friendly box office staff will validate it for you. Validations are for paid ticket holders only.

This is a FREE EVENT. While not expected, Dropping Hairpins Project will seek donations in support of this and future Sapphic Cinema events at the screening. To donate now or learn more, visit droppinghairpins.com.