Desert Hearts
- Tuesday, Jun 3, 2025, 7:15pm
Screening location: Northwest Film Forum – 1515 12th Ave, Seattle
40th anniversary of Donna Deitch's landmark classic!
Deitch’s swooning and sensual first narrative feature, DESERT HEARTS, was groundbreaking upon its release in 1985: a love story about two women, produced and directed by a woman. In this 1959-set film, adapted from a beloved novel by Jane Rule, straitlaced East Coast professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce, but winds up catching the eye of someone new: the younger, free-spirited Cay (Patricia Charbonneau)--touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against a breathtaking desert landscape. With smoldering chemistry between its two leads, an evocative jukebox soundtrack, and vivid cinematography by Robert Elswit, DESERT HEARTS beautifully exudes a sense of tender yearning and emotional candor.
“Desert Hearts remains one of cinema’s greatest lesbian love stories.” Heather Hogan, Autostraddle
“Startlingly intimate and unabashedly erotic.” Michael Rechtshoffen, The Hollywood Reporter
“When is a film not just a film? When it’s a cultural and sociological icon like Desert Hearts.” Lydia Marcus, The Advocate