Movies: Jenni Olson

With a rare gift for unflinching impartiality, director Arthur Dong delves into the lives and attitudes of fundamentalist families who actively oppose homosexuality, despite having gay offspring themselves....

An offering is passed repeatedly between a Japanese monk and a young novice as their relationship evolves from their initial encounter through their final parting....

In the aftermath of Stonewall, a newly politicized Vito Russo found his voice as a gay activist and critic of LGBTQ+ representation in the media. He went on to write "The Celluloid Closet", the first book to critique Hollywood's portrayals of gays on...

Dutch doors, warehouse windows, and empty streets provide the background for a short tale about past lust and lost love. This glimpse into the drama of a lesbian relationship is revealed through stark visuals and the measured pace of the voice-over, ...

A young woman in the Army must make tough decisions when her love for an older woman causes her to question just where she is going. Adapted from Deb Shoval's 2011 short film of the same name....

a chronological coming attractions overview of Jodie Foster’s career...

The film examines the ways that women directors have contributed to this genre and emphasizes the role that the media play in representation of sexuality and gender, underscoring the power that film has to shape our perceptions of one another. Visual...

From the Marx Brothers to Schindler's List, this compilation of Jewish film trailers offers a glimpse at the history of Jews in American cinema. A mixture of humor, social commentary, and drama, these original coming attractions trailers offer insigh...

Shy is a transgender man who leaves his small town after the death of his father, and heads to the big city to live a life of crime. Along the way, he encounters Valentine, a quirky adoptee, in search of his birth mother. An immediate kinship is spar...

Brooklyn Bloomberg and friends do some steamy kibbutzing in this fascinating piece of Yiddish-keit, circa 1923. Rare 16mm archival erotica footage is overlaid with a hilarious Jewish porno voiceover - sprinkled with colloquial Yiddishisms....

A brief reflection on faith, self-loathing and Studs Lonigan....

Over 30 filmmakers and friends of Strand Releasing have come together to honor the company’s indelible contribution to independent cinema over the past thirty years. The participating filmmakers have each created a short film for the project, all sho...

A chronological look at films by, for, or about gays and lesbians in the United States, from 1947 to 2005, Kenneth Anger's "Fireworks" to "Brokeback Mountain". Talking heads, anchored by critic and scholar B. Ruby Rich, are interspersed with an advan...

A provocative lesbian spoof of the famous early '90s ad campaign: "What do you do in your 501s?" “Jenni Olson’s Levis 501s Commercial literally captures the essence of the lesbian experience in a one-minute quickie.” — San Francisco Bay Times, 1992...

Follows the lives of four queer masculine-presenting BIPOC – all assigned female at birth – as they challenge conceptions of gender identity while navigating life’s hardships and triumphs....

A documentary following the exploits of a group of filmmakers as they take their independent feature, Ten 'til Noon, along the film festival circuit, and the politics, pitfalls, triumphs and comic tragedies they encounter along the way. Full of inter...

A fascinating and unlikely reinvention story, The Royal Road simultaneously explores cinematic spiritual channeling, the conquest and colonization of Mexico and the American Southwest, fading historical Californian urban landscapes, and the passions ...

This spectacular showcase of vintage movie trailers offers a crash course in lesbian, gay, bi and transgender (LGBT) movie history and a colorful look at nearly every major mainstream queer-themed film produced between 1953 and 1977! Archivist Jenni ...

Film archivist and former director of the San Francisco Lesbian and Gay Film Festival Jenni Olson created this fast-paced and often funny, campy 75-minute film comprised entirely of spliced together movie trailers. Some of the segments have themes su...

This fantastic sequel to the original Homo Promo features original 35mm trailers from some of the most well-known LGBTQ movies of the 1980s and early 90s. This wonderful mix of mainstream and independent trailers reveals the unique distinctions betwe...