Desert Hearts

Part of our Rainbow Reels Film Talk Series!

40th Anniversary!

Donna Deitch’s swooning and sensual first film, Desert Hearts , was groundbreaking upon its 1986 release: a love story about two women, produced and directed by a woman. In the 1959-set film, an adaptation of a beloved novel by Jane Rule, straitlaced East Coast professor Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver) arrives in Reno to file for divorce, but winds up catching the eye of someone new, the younger free spirit Cay (Patricia Charbonneau), touching off a slow seduction that unfolds against the breathtaking desert landscape. With smoldering chemistry between its two leads, an evocative jukebox soundtrack, and vivid cinematography by Robert Elswit, Desert Hearts beautifully exudes a sense of tender yearning and emotional candor.

Laura McVey

Laura McVey is a librarian, writer, and lifelong cinephile. She was born and raised in Hamilton, and earned a Liberal Arts degree at the University of Waterloo and a Masters of Library and Information Science from the University of Western Ontario. Laura is passionate about making connections through the medium of film, and hopes that the Rainbow Reels series will help expose filmgoers to queer stories from all over the world.