Photo: Corine Solberg for Average Socialite
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Deets: Outfest Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Film Festival celebrated the 20th anniversary of Todd Haynes’ masterpiece film Far From Heaven, a multi-Oscar nominated melodrama that paid tribute to cinema icon Douglas Sirk, with the legends responsible for its making. The screening was followed by an in-person Q&A with Julianne Moore, Todd Haynes, and Christine Vachon, discussing the team’s decades-long partnership and impact on queer cinema.
ABOUT FAR FROM HEAVEN
In the 1950s, director Douglas Sirk achieved his greatest commercial and artistic triumphs with a series of brilliant, socially conscious melodramas. Films like All That Heaven Allows, Written on the Wind, and Imitation of Life — sumptuously filmed, larger-than-life productions populated by Hollywood legends. They incisively explored issues of class, race, and inequality while delivering all the swooning romance and heightened drama audiences craved. Sirk’s distinct style has been cited by queer filmmaking legends as an influence, and in 2002, it provided inspiration for Todd Haynes’ masterpiece, Far From Heaven.
From the first frame, Haynes’ meticulous recreation of a Sirkian world envelops the senses, but this is not simply an homage to a great filmmaker, it’s a radical reimagining of what was possible in ‘50s era Hollywood filmmaking. Through the story of picture perfect housewife Cathy Whitaker finds herself falling for her handsome Black gardener in the wake of discovering her husband’s hidden queerness, Haynes frankly addresses issues that in actual 1950s films remained coded, while nimbly maintaining the attitudes and language of the era. This stunning film, which earned four Academy Award nominations, also represents perhaps the finest work in the ongoing filmmaking trio of Haynes, producer Christine Vachon (who has worked with Haynes since their breakout 1991 feature Poison), and star Julianne Moore (who joined the two for 1995’s Safe, and several more films after). Outfest is honored to welcome all three to this special 20th anniversary screening to discuss their undeniably iconic partnership.
Spotted: Julianne Moore (Cast), Todd Haynes (Writer/Director), and Christine Vachon (Producer)
Hint for the Average Socialite: Purchase tickets below.
What’s Trending: @_juliannemoore #Outfest
