Muff Dives: The Dyke Bar in Cinema

“This retrospective is devoted to films that immerse viewers, if only for a scene or two, in social spaces that are now perilously close to extinction: nightspots catering to queer women. Some of these movies were shot, however briefly, in situ in actual legendary lez bars (all of which are now shuttered); others in wholly fabricated lavender boîtes. Whether real or fictional, these clubs abound with promise, unpredictability, lust, and heartache—the inevitable result of bodies mingling, dancing, flirting, and more in close quarters.”—Melissa Anderson, series curator

Series curated and program notes written by Melissa Anderson, film editor of 4Columns. Special thanks to Thomas Beard, L. Franklin Gilliam, Erin Johnson, Sophia Larigakis, and Jenni Olson.