„The Archivettes“

“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 LGBTQIA+ 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.”

CINEMA POLITICA is a media arts, non-profit network of community and campus locals that screen independent political film and video. We believe in the power of art to not only entertain but to engage, inform, inspire, and provoke social change.