“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 award-winning documentary filmmaker and assistant professor and chair of communication at Purchase College. Her work has aired on PBS and screened internationally at festivals including Outfest, DOC NYC, BFI Flare, Iris Prize and Cannes Film Festival American Pavilion.
Rossman’s new short film Their Voice, which follows performer Kristyn Michele as they transition from mezzo-soprano to tenor, premiered at Out On Film in September. Her feature-length debut, The Archivettes has screened as an official selection at over 75 film festivals.
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