Greetings From Washington DC and In The Best Interests Of The Children

Lesbian Looks is thrilled to welcome distinguished filmmaker Frances Reid to present two recently restored classic documentaries from the Gay Liberation era. Followed by a cash bar reception and discussion with Frances Reid.

GREETINGS FROM WASHINGTON, D.C. documents the first National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, where tens of thousands of people converged on October 14, 1979. Produced collectively by pioneering filmmakers Rob Epstein (The Times of Harvey Milk, 1984), Frances Reid (In the Best Interests of the Children, 1977), Greta Schiller (Before Stonewall, 1984) and Lucy Winer (Rate It X, 1986), the film captures the hopeful and peaceful activism of this community, and the joyous, intersectional spirit of an event that heralded the beginning of a new chapter in the national fight for queer rights and visibility. (Dir. by Rob Epstein, Frances Reid, Greta Schiller and Lucy Winer, 1981, USA, 29 mins., Not Rated)
 
IN THE BEST INTERESTS OF THE CHILDREN offers an intimate and courageous portrait of lesbian mothers and their children during a time of intense legal and social discrimination. It stands as a cinematic milestone in the documentation of LGBTQ+ family life and a record of the history of the broader struggle for civil rights. Through candid interviews, courtroom narratives, and everyday scenes, the film captures the resilience, love, and dignity of queer families fighting for recognition, justice, and the right to care for one another. (Dir. by Frances Reid, Elizabeth Stevens and Cathy Zheutlin, 1977, USA, 53 mins., Not Rated)

Frances Reid bio:
Frances Reid is a veteran of forty years of activist documentary filmmaking.  In 1975 she co-founded Iris Feminist Collective to tell the stories and amplify the voices of those who had been traditionally underrepresented and misrepresented by the mainstream film business.  She has used documentary film as a tool for bridge building, for activating, and for reframing the narratives of women, of lesbians, and of people of color, believing that how we tell our stories impacts how we see and are seen in the world. 
 
LONG NIGHT’S JOURNEY INTO DAY: SOUTH AFRICA’S SEARCH FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION, co-directed with Deborah Hoffman, won the Grand Jury Award for best Documentary at Sundance 2000, was nominated for an Academy Award in 2001 and a DGA award in 2002, and has been exhibited at festivals worldwide, including the Jerusalem Film Festival in 2000 where it won the “In the Spirit of Freedom” award.??SKIN DEEP (1995), which explores race relations on college campuses, was broadcast nationally on PBS and has been used by nearly 2,000 colleges and universities in the U.S. STRAIGHT FROM THE HEART, co-directed with Dee Mosbacher, received a 1994 Academy Award nomination for best Documentary Short.  THE FACES OF AIDS (1992), about HIV/AIDS in Cameroon and Zimbabwe, won a First Place at the Black Filmmakers Hall of Fame. Her cinematography credits include THE TIMES OF HARVEY MILK (1985’s Oscar winning Best Documentary feature), and Deborah Hoffmann’s Peabody-winning, Oscar-nominated COMPLAINTS OF A DUTIFUL DAUGHTER (1994).

This is a Community Rental by Lesbian Looks.