Free Outdoor Screening: Desert Hearts

Sat, 16 Aug, 2025 at 07:00 pm UTC-07:00

2155 Center St, Berkeley, CA, United States, California 94704 | Berkeley

Berkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive
Publisher/HostBerkeley Art Museum & Pacific Film Archive
Free Outdoor Screening: Desert Hearts
Advertisement
Join us for a free outdoor screening to celebrate Berkeley Pride!
Bring a blanket or lawn chair and a picnic dinner to BAMPFA’s huge outdoor LED screen on Addison and Oxford Streets and enjoy the show.
--
In Donna Deitch’s narrative feature debut, high-strung East Coast professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce, only to be swept up in a sensuous romance with free-spirited Cay (Patricia Charbonneau). Set in 1959 and adapted from the novel by Jane Rule, this beautifully controlled drama has become a classic in the queer cinema canon and was groundbreaking upon its 1985 release for depicting a tender romance between two women, produced and directed by a woman.
In her initial request to adapt the book, Deitch wrote, “My objective in making a film about lesbians is not that we are the best of all possible women, but that we are real, sympathetic, beautiful, intelligent human beings capable of good and bad.” With an evocative honky-tonk soundtrack and breathtaking cinematography from Robert Elswit (There Will Be Blood), the desert landscapes of Nevada and the neon signs of Reno shine as brightly as a string of lights around your heart.
Advertisement

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

2155 Center St, Berkeley, CA, United States, California 94704

Sharing is Caring:

More Events in Berkeley

THE TAMING OF THE SHREW - by Shakespeare -  Free Theatre in the  Park
Sat, 16 Aug at 04:00 pm THE TAMING OF THE SHREW - by Shakespeare - Free Theatre in the Park

41 Somerset Place, Berkeley, CA, United States, California 94707

East Bay Waltz - It's a Showtunes Shindig!
Sat, 16 Aug at 04:00 pm East Bay Waltz - It's a Showtunes Shindig!

1970 Chestnut St, Berkeley, CA, United States, California

Ancient Mbrira Music of Zimbabwe
Sat, 16 Aug at 04:00 pm Ancient Mbrira Music of Zimbabwe

Freight & Salvage

Solstice Cacao Dance w\/ Madaly Love & Special Guests
Sat, 16 Aug at 05:00 pm Solstice Cacao Dance w/ Madaly Love & Special Guests

2807 Telegraph Ave, Berkeley, CA 94609-3606, United States

The Multicultural Institute's 2025 Tequila Tasting
Sat, 16 Aug at 05:00 pm The Multicultural Institute's 2025 Tequila Tasting

Multicultural Institute — Berkeley

Song Medicine
Sat, 16 Aug at 07:30 pm Song Medicine

Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists

Honky Tonk Night w\/ MITCH POLZAK
Sat, 16 Aug at 07:30 pm Honky Tonk Night w/ MITCH POLZAK

1317 San Pablo Ave, Berkeley, CA, United States, California 94702

Alam Khan at The Freight
Sat, 16 Aug at 08:00 pm Alam Khan at The Freight

2020 Addison St, Berkeley, CA, United States, California 94704

Puppeteers For Fears presents Robopocalypse: The Musical! With special musical guest: Blunderbusst
Sat, 16 Aug at 08:00 pm Puppeteers For Fears presents Robopocalypse: The Musical! With special musical guest: Blunderbusst

2367 Shattuck Ave, Berkeley, CA, United States, California 94704

Lucy Dacus at Greek Theatre - Berkeley
Sat, 16 Aug at 08:00 pm Lucy Dacus at Greek Theatre - Berkeley

Greek Theatre - Berkeley

Lucy Dacus, Jay Som in Berkeley
Sat, 16 Aug at 08:00 pm Lucy Dacus, Jay Som in Berkeley

Greek Theatre-U.C. Berkeley

Berkeley is Happening!

Never miss your favorite happenings again!

Explore Berkeley Events