The new documentary Sally! is a compelling exploration of the life and legacy of Sally Gearhart, a trailblazer in both feminist and queer movements. Directed by Deborah Craig and co-produced by Jörg Fockele and Ondine Rarey, the film highlights Gearhart’s imaginative spirit and her ability to foster dialogue across ideological divides, making it a crucial watch for today's activists. Along with celebrating Gearhart’s contributions, Sally! serves as a call to action for those committed to social change, reminding audiences of the importance of learning from historical movements to inspire current and future activism.
Seismic Sisters had the pleasure of interviewing Ondine Rarey, co-producer and editor of Sally! about the inspiration behind the film and the contemporary relevance of Gearhart's legacy in feminist and queer movements.
Filmmaker, editor and writer Ondine Rarey.
Ondine Rarey is a filmmaker, editor and writer. Her documentary “Fools and Heroes” was a Grimme-Preis nominee (the German equivalent of an Emmy), airing on ARTE in France as well as stateside on PBS. She has edited well over a dozen documentary features and shorts, including “Now en Español” (for PBS), “Who Will Write Our History” and “Rebel Hearts,” an official selection at Sundance 2021. She has edited on multiple TV series, including “Keeping up with the Kardashians” and “Alien Encounters.”
Tell us about the inspiration for SALLY!
I was brought on by Deborah as editor on a short film about lesbians and aging in which Sally was one of several characters. Every time Sally appeared on my monitor, the screen lit up. I finally googled her and was like, “Wow, this woman was famous!” By the time we were done with the short we’d decided to undertake a feature documentary about Sally. It’s funny, when Sally died I broke down sobbing. And I think it was grief over not having known about her for so long—all the time I was growing up in the backlash against feminism, when I was living through domestic violence, sexual abuse, sexual harassment and assault. I think we make the films we want to watch.
In what ways do you think Sally’s legacy is relevant to contemporary feminist and queer movements and issues?
I think a lot of the history Sally helped make in two movements has been forgotten, to our peril, because history is repeating itself. Freedoms and rights women won in the 1970s are being taken away while attacks against trans people are almost identical (the same words, the same methods) to those gays and lesbians experienced in the 1970s and 1980s. So, she made a huge difference and I think the fact that her story has been erased / forgotten is part of the reason we’re fighting similar battles today.
What were some of the most surprising or enlightening aspects of Sally's life that you discovered during the filmmaking process?
So much of the way Sally saw the world was shaped by her experiences growing up in the rural South. For example, she says she got the idea for “listen spread” in The Wandergound, which is basically telekinesis, from “the Party Line.” When she was young, in rural areas 20 or so houses would share the same phone line, so you’d pick up and be connected to all these people. I also feel that Sally anticipated the internet in The Wanderground and how we would be connected through that tech. It’s like she was writing about the #MeToo movement!
Feminist activist, SALLY! Photo courtesy of Silvia Turchin.
Can you discuss the challenges you faced in portraying Sally's complex personality and sometimes controversial ideas?
Compressing her 90+ years (and two huge political movements!) into 90 minutes was one of the hardest challenges I’ve ever faced. For each thing that was true of Sally, the opposite was also true. And there were so many layers to Sally’s “truth” that I had to keep circling back to the same topics in order to deepen them. Film as a medium doesn’t lend itself to complexity. And so I tried things I’d never tried before. I hope we got close!
The film touches on Sally's work in science fiction writing. How did her literary contributions complement her activism?
It’s hard to answer that, because literary contributions and her activism were so interwoven, but I think her great gift was imagination, the ability to imagine a different world. That’s what really inspired people.
Production team on set with Sally Gearhart. Photo courtesy of Deborah Craig
What do you hope viewers, especially young activists, will take away from Sally's story and her approach to social change?
It was Sally’s ability to reach across the aisle that I think is her most important message to us today. It’s such a rare skill and so desperately needed today. I once found some audio of her at a right-wing Christian seminar—she crashed it and stood up at the end and announced she was a lesbian! She wanted to make a human connection with those folks.
How have women and members of the LGBTQ+ community shown up to support this creative initiative?
They are the reason this film exists. We have been almost entirely funded by relatively small individual donations, mostly from queer women. A spattering of gay men contributed, but not as much as we’d hoped.
What’s next for Sally! the film?
We are currently doing the festival circuit, which has been really exciting! We’re just out of the gate and already we’re showing at so many fests all over the world.
Through Sally Gearhart's remarkable story, the movement is rewritten to shine a light on her courageous activism. To learn more about the film and where to watch it, visit https://www.sallygearhartfilm.com/.
Kim Christensen, founder of Seismic Sisters Media, was pleased to donate to help filmmakers bring the Sally! documentary to life—in the spirit of supporting and funding badass feminist media!