Blue Diary

Panorama 40 2019

A lesbian spends a night with a straight woman. The next morning, she faces her unfulfilled expectations. Her thoughts relentlessly circle her desires and the indifference with which they are met. In an almost inexhaustible stream of consciousness that is simultaneously obsessive and tender, she relives the previous night which has gone nowhere; just like the streets and cul-de-sacs of San Francisco that seem to reflect her own mood in a deliberately laconic montage. Here, film historian Jenni Olson, who was also involved in the restoration of Buddies, finds a form for the relationship between words and images that is deeply touching in its simplicity.

Trailer/Film Excerpt

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by Jenni Olson (Written and Directed by) USA 1997 English 6' Colour

Crew

Written and Directed by	Jenni Olson
Cinematography	William E. Jones
Camera Assistant	Rebekah Sitty
Editing	Dawn Logsdon
Narrator	Silas Howard 1997 known as Lynn Flipper
Sound	Kadet Kuhne, Lauretta Molitor
Producers	Emma Bufton, Julie Dorf, Anna Vavloukis
Associate Producers	Scott Noble, Paul Lee, C.J. Roessler

World Sales

Frameline Distribution

California, USA

Produced by

Treasury Street Productions

San Francisco, USA

Jenni Olson

Born in Falcon Heights, Minnesota, USA in 1962, this filmmaker, film historian and critic took a degree in film studies at the University of Minnesota. She has made several short and long essayistic films which have screened and won awards at international festivals. She has a personal archive of rare LGBT film prints and has also won several awards for her work as a film historian. She is co-founder of the PlanetOut.com online platform and the Queer Brunch at Sundance, and also runs the butch.org website. Alongside her work as a consultant in digital film distribution and marketing, she is currently developing her third feature-length essay film.

Filmography (selection)

1991 Levi’s 501s Commercial; experimental video 1994 Sometimes; experimental video 1997 Blow-Up; experimental video · Blue Diary; short experimental film; Panorama 2000 Meep Meep!; experimental video 2003 Matzo Maidels; co-director: Monica Nolan; experimental video 2005 The Joy of Life; experimental film 2008 575 Castro St.; short experimental film; Panorama 2015 The Royal Road; experimental film

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019