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High Art

Directed by Lisa Cholodenko1998USA101 mins

Announcing the latest queer cinema treasure lovingly remastered as part of Frameline Restorations! Starring Ally Sheedy, Radha Mitchell, and Patricia Clarkson, Lisa Cholodenko's stunning directorial debut High Art (1998) will screen in a brand new digital restoration, co-funded by Frameline, on Saturday, November 2, 2024 at SFMOMA, twenty-six years after opening Frameline22. Ranked #18 on Autostraddle’s 2024 list of Best Lesbian Movies of All Time, High Art signaled the last hurrah of a particular era of queer women’s cinema in the heyday of American independent cinema in the 1990s. Made with a predominantly all-female crew, Cholodenko (The Kids Are All Right) premiered the film at Sundance, taking home their Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award. Sometimes labeled as a “comeback” performance, Ally Sheedy won several critics circle prizes and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her raw and captivating performance at the center.

A leaky ceiling becomes the catalyst for a flood of powerful, unexpected (and complicated) emotions for neighbors Syd (Radha Mitchell), a twentysomething associate editor at a popular photo magazine, and Lucy (Sheedy), a once-celebrated Nan Goldin-esque photographer who retired from the art world years prior. Both live with their long-term partners — for Syd, a milquetoast Manhattanite named James (Gabriel Mann), and for Lucy, a washed-up, heroin-addicted German actress named Greta (an unforgettable Patricia Clarkson). As passion takes hold of the women, Syd and Lucy collectively trample over a sea of red flags, each holding out hope that they can rescue each other from the complacency that’s weighing heavily on their lives. Existing somewhere between a faded Polaroid of old flame and sobering reminder of the lessons we’ve learned since then, High Art is just as potent and striking as it was all those years ago.

Expected Guests

Lisa Cholodenko
Director

Digitally restored by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with Sundance Institute from the 35mm original picture negative and DA-88 tapes. Funding provided by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frameline, Sundance Institute, UCLA Film & Television Archive. Laboratory services by Roundabout Entertainment, Inc., Red Hook Post, Monkeyland Audio.

Tickets

Quick links
Sponsor
Director
Lisa Cholodenko
Year
1998
Country
USA
Running Time
101 mins
Language
English
Premiere
World
Section
Frameline Restorations, Off Season Screenings
Program Note Writer
Joe Bowman
Rated
R
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