Old Lesbians – Director: Meghan McDonough. 30 Min.
Old Lesbians is a documentary short about queer elders preserving their own herstory. More specifically, it’s about the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project (OLOHP), an archive of 800+ life stories recorded across the U.S. (plus a handful abroad).
For the last quarter century, retired schoolteacher Arden Eversmeyer journeyed from Houston across the country to record hundreds of oral “herstories” with a mostly invisible population that is rapidly disappearing. Old Lesbians honors Arden’s legacy by animating the resilient, joyful voices she preserved in the Old Lesbian Oral Herstory Project, from first crush to first love, from the closet to coming out, and finally from loss to connection.
OLOHP’s interviewees include musician Gaye Adegbalola (whose music is featured in the film), novelist Jewelle Gomez, pulp fiction author Ann Bannon, and historian Lillian Faderman. Only about half of all OLOHP interviewees are still alive today.
Arden passed away in 2022 at the age of 91. Old Lesbians honors her legacy by animating the resilient, joyful voices she preserved, from first crush to first love, from the closet to coming out, and finally from loss to connection.
Director Meghan McDonough will be at the screening for a Q&A session afterwards. And, the NWMF will be recording oral histories throughout the festival, and we will be recruiting viewers to contribute their stories!