Pink Palace brings you this often overlooked milestone in lesbian cinema. Ground breaking when it appeared in UK cinemas, lesbian director Donna Deitch’s uplifting romance was one of the first films to look at a non-dramatic, non-sensational happy positive romance.

The 1950’s set story follows literature professor Vivian as she awaits her divorce to be finalised in the desert heat of Reno, Nevada. Fate intervenes and she meets Cay, 10 years her junior, who’s fiery passion challenges Vivians prim respectability.

What makes this film all the more remarkable is that it was made and funded by the lesbian community after the studios turned it down, allowing the director to make a film without any pressure to tone it down.

“Although it has become a cult classic due to its explicit lesbian sex, Desert Hearts is a wonderfully well-made film with a host of appealing attributes. Steeped in moody, classic country and western music, it conveys romantic longing and confusion with bittersweet intensity. With neither cynicism nor sentimentality, Desert Hearts charmingly asserts the centrality of emotion, as well as its prankish surprises.”
Camille Paglia, Sight & Sound, October 2015

Pink Palace is a super low fi highly relaxed weekly queer film club that takes place in the Rio basement bar, its a safe space so come along and catch some queer film and pop culture history, each week the film is introduced by curator Andrew Woodyatt, feel free to stay and chat afterwards, participation is encouraged!