“OUR HISTORY WAS DISAPPEARING AS
QUICKLY AS WE WERE MAKING IT.”
With that realization, Deborah Edel and Joan Nestle co-founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the world’s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians.
For more than 40 years, through many of the major milestones in LGBTQ+ history, the all-volunteer organization has literally rescued history from the trash.
Now the co-founders are in their mid-70s, and the group faces a number of challenges: A transfer of leadership. The rise of digital technology. A renewed call to activism in a politically charged moment.
“The Archivettes” is a documentary film that explores how this group came together to combat lesbian invisibility and create “a place that says yes.”
MEGAN ROSSMAN
DIRECTOR
Megan Rossman is an assistant professor of communication at Purchase College and an award winning documentary filmmaker.
Rossman’s films have screened at festivals including DOC NYC and Outfest. Her film “Love Letter Rescue Squad” won best student documentary in the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival American Pavilion in 2017. She has also worked as a multimedia journalist at The Washington Post and as the director of video at Teach For America.
THE LESBIAN HERSTORY ARCHIVE
The Lesbian Herstory Archives is home to the world's largest collection of materials by and about lesbians and their communities. They are located at 484 14th St. in Park Slope, Brooklyn. To learn more, visit their website.
STREAM
Click here to stream "The Archivettes” on Kanopy
ORDER
Click here to order “The Archivettes” on DVD
PRESSKIT
Click here to download a press kit for “The Archivettes”
Click here to download "The Archivettes" poster
All photos unless by Prisca Edwards unless otherwise noted
Design by Sara Duell