BEST DOCUMENTARY - Cinema Systers Film Festival | "Hundreds of women once flocked to an Oregon city and created a lesbian mecca. They've got stories." - LGBTQ Nation
LGBTQ+ History • Queer Archives • Lesbian-Feminism • Queer Elders • Lesbian Community • Aging with Purpose • Resisting Social Norms • Grassroots Political Organizing • Disability Experience • Social Justice • Political Activism • Social Change
Date of Completion: 2024 | Run Time: 65 minutes | Language: English with French subtitles | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Director: Courtney Hermann | Producer: Judith Raiskin | Editor: Kerribeth Elliott | Producer of Impact, Marketing, and Distribution: G. Chesler | Narrator: Jody Bleyle
OUTLIERS AND OUTLAWS uncovers the history of a large and vibrant lesbian community in Eugene, Oregon. Lesbians who migrated to this small city in the 1960s-90s candidly share stories about the power of courageous and creative world-building. Intimate portraits–both then and now–model living in hard times with hope, humor, and commitment to social change. Narrated by musician Jody Bleyle (Team Dresch and Hazel) OUTLIERS AND OUTLAWS includes a rich archive of images documenting this groundbreaking community. Featured songs: “Song of the Soul” by Cris Williamson, “Ode to a Gym Teacher” by Meg Christian, and a little known ode “Eugene, Oregon” by Dolly Parton accompany this previously untold story.
LGBTQ Nation | Greg Owen, Politics and Culture Reporter
"Hundreds of women once flocked to an Oregon city & created a lesbian mecca. They’ve got stories."
University of Oregon | Elizabeth Reis, Professor Emeritus
"College students taking women’s studies or history will learn and find inspiration in the commitment and creativity of these “outliers and outlaws,” who cultivated intentional community outside the bounds of conventional heterosexuality and found joy in the process."
Stanford University | Professor Estelle B. Freedman
"Building on a powerful oral history project, Outliers and Outlaws vividly, joyously, and honestly portrays the lives of women who established a vibrant lesbian community in Eugene, OR in the late twentieth century. Their stories enrich the histories of women, feminism, and sexuality, with deep resonances for our own time."
AWARDS
Best Documentary Feature | Cinema Systers Film Festival
Women Who Doc Award for Outstanding Director | DocuWest Film Festival
Festival Favorite and Director’s Choice Awards | Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ+ Film Festival
FESTIVALS
QDOC: Portland Queer Documentary Film Festival
QFest St. Louis
San Francisco Queer Film Festival
Cinema Diverse: The Palm Springs LGBTQ Film Festival
FRINGE! Queer Film and Arts Festival London - London, UK
Out on Screen: Vancouver Queer Film Festival - Vancouver, Canada
OutReels Cincinnati
Circa Queer Histories Festival at the LGBT Center of Los Angeles
DocuWest: Denver Documentary Film Festival
Out on Film: Atlanta’s LGBTQ Film Festival
SCREENINGS
University and College Symposiums and Events:
Stanford University - Queer Student Resources and the Stanford American Studies Program
University of Arizona - "Lesbian Looks" Film Series
University of Oregon - Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies and the Center for the Study of Women in Society
Portland State University - "Queer Storytelling from the Archive"
Eastern Oregon University - EOU Film Club
University of Lille (Lille, France) - "Lesbian Lands: Community and Creativity Across Time and Space"
Independent and Art House Cinemas:
Cinema 21 (Portland, Oregon)
Art House (Eugene, Oregon)
Salem Cinema (Salem, Oregon)
Community Events:
Pride of Woodstock at University Town Hall Theater (Woodstock, Vermont)
Oregon Historical Society's "History Pub" at the Kennedy School Theater (Portland, Oregon)
Oregon Jewish Museum at the Portland Art Museum's Tomorrow Theater (Portland, Oregon)