Jules Larson introduces Carol at Best Video.
Best Video filled every seat in the house and then some on Thursday, the inaugural night of Queer Film Club, a new series in collaboration with East Rock House, New Haven Pride Center, and Hamden Pride that aims to share queer-centered films in a safe and friendly environment.
The first film in the first series, which has been dubbed “Dyke Dramas,” was the 2015 drama Carol, based on the book The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith. This Todd Haynes film — as well as the next three in the series (The Watermelon Woman, Born in Flames, and Go Fish), which will be shown the third Thursday of the next three months — was chosen for specific reasons, according to Jules Larson, who hosted the evening and currently works in programming for Best.
“These movies are movies that should be collected under the queer lens, to get a better spectrum of what’s going on,” said Larson, noting that Go Fish is “very indie” and Carol is “very studio.” All movies are lesbian-centered and the costuming is “endemic” in all of them as well. The organizers also wanted to show the full range of how camp plays into these stories.
“Camp is a big part of queer cinema and we wanted to highlight the range of that,” Larson added. “These are films that are known about but never given a venue to watch. Maybe Carol is the only one that has a wider audience.”
The audience filled all the available seats before the film even began, and more chairs were set out while everyone was meeting and greeting the other collaborators, including Suyane Olivera, the outgoing woman’s program curator for the New Haven Pride Center, who along with Marianna Apostolakis of East Rock House planted the seeds of this series last year.
“Suyane and I worked on this project together,” Apostolakis said, the two having talked to each other about doing a “dyke film series” over this past summer. Olivera then got in touch with Best Video.
“Best Video is obviously the right space to be doing it, and then we wanted to partner with New Haven Pride and Hamden Pride as well.”
An “entirely DIY collective,” East Rock House is “excited to diversify the things they do,” including this new film club.
East Rock House's merch table
Olivera shared that excitement, especially in offering an alternative space in which to gather.
“We basically wanted to host a space in the winter time where [people] can get together in a Covid-conscious environment and do something very relaxing, and not so much bar culture and drinking and dancing,” she said. “Just enjoy a movie together.”
Another collaborator, Jacky Forcucci, the chair and co-founder of Hamden Pride, sat at a table with Hamden Pride stickers and website info as well as a raffle basket. She shared her excitement at being a part of this new endeavor, as well as a part of Hamden Pride, which began last year and hosted its first Pride event in June (another is being planned for 2023).
“We’re just beginning as a very new establishment,” she said, also noting she was happy to “see so many people out on this night feeling part of a safe community.”
Forcucci and Hamden Pride
Atticus Bookstore — represented at this event by assistant manager Liz Dimiele and bookseller Megan Foshe — also had a table with books by lesbian authors, including the novel The Price of Salt and a biography of author Patricia Highsmith.
Dimele and Foshe of Atticus Bookstore
Larson, Forcucci, Olivera, Apostolakis and Ashley LaRue — also of East Rock House — all came up front to welcome everyone and start the proceedings. Larson introduced the organizations and discussed a bit of the film’s background, including how the film was produced by Cate Blanchett — who also stars in the film in the title role — and how the costuming was done by Sandy Powell, who also did the costuming for many Martin Scorsese films but was also connected to the underground queer film scene.
“That’s the thing about queer film, is that we try to put camp first, and when it comes to camp, we want to make sure that costume and set design is just as much of a message as it is for the dialogue,” Larson noted.
Larson also talked about Highsmith’s writing career and how she “opened herself up as a lesbian during this time” when it was “still heavily taboo.” Meanwhile, director Haynes “always wants to speak on the interiority of people” in his films, addressing the “tiny little moments” in the film that make it so unique.
Karen Ponzio Photos
The film itself is a breathtakingly beautiful study of the relationship between the married Carol Aird (Blanchett) and department store clerk Therese Belivet (Rooney Mara), who notice each other one day in the department store where Belivet works. Through a series of events, they end up becoming closer and more romantically involved. The 1950s New York setting is almost its own character and lends itself to the beauty and sadness of it all, as the two try to maneuver their way through what is expected of them and what they expect of each other.
The crowd seemed genuinely enraptured by the film. Audience members collectively reacted to certain moments, whether it was laughter when Carol tells Therese to “invite me ‘round” or loud “ooohs” when Harge, Carol’s husband, says to her “I put nothing past a woman like you” and Carol answers “you married a woman like me.” It was a testimony to the joy of viewing a film as a community.
I won’t tell you how everything turns out, but as someone who has seen this particular film numerous times, I can say that knowing how it ends does not diminish its effect. I will also say that the applause at the film’s completion and the chatter about the film afterward indicated that this event was a big hit. The crowd mostly remained after the film to keep the conversations going. It may have been the end of the movie, but it felt like the beginning of so much more.
Queer Film Club continues its “Dyke Dramas” series in February. March and April at Best Video. Please see Best Video’s website for more information about films and times.