peer-less (adj.): having no equal: MATCHLESS; syn: supreme, superlative, incomparable
Amidst the hundreds of queer films being produced these days, Su Friedrich's singular brand of
filmmaking continues to stand out from the crowd. Friedrich's tactile, monochrome gems have been
touching audiences for more than twenty years. Her award-winning short feature Hide and Seek is finally being released on video this
month, along with two other Friedrich classics, Damned If
You Don't and Sink or Swim.
Hide and Seek -- Friedrich's first collaborative effort with longtime girlfriend and painter
Cathy Nan Quinlan -- was primarily funded by the Independent Television Service (ITVS). It received
wide exposure on PBS when it was first released in 1996, following its world premiere at the
prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
Hide and Seek
The 63-minute exploration of lesbian childhood incorporates documentary (interviews with women talking
about their early lesbian experiences, sexual and otherwise), narrative (a wonderful slice-of-life
sketch of teenage tomboy Lou and her pals growing up in the early 1960s), and clips from campy
educational films of the '50s and '60s ("Social-Sex Attitudes in Adolescence," "Cindy Goes to a
Party," and "The Children Must Learn") -- with a lovely interlude of scratch animation (reminiscent of
her earliest works) thrown in for good measure. It's an unusual structure that captures the nuances of
lesbian childhood through a dynamic and powerful style.
Like the rest of Friedrich's work, Hide and Seek defies traditional genres, falling to rest in
the hybrid realm of "personal films." Friedrich's evolution as a filmmaker is fully on display in
Hide and Seek; the film is lyrical, passionate, innovative, and immensely entertaining.
A true artisan, Friedrich is a self-taught filmmaker who generally writes, produces, directs, shoots,
and edits all of her films. Hide and Seek is her most collaborative work to date. Co-written
by Quinlan, the film was shot by cinematographer Jim Denault (who went on to shoot Kim Peirce's Boys Don't Cry) and produced by Eva Kolodner and Katie
Roumel (Kolodner went on to produce Boys Don't Cry with Christine Vachon).
Damned If You Don't
Beginning her career in the late '70s, Friedrich created her first sensual, silent, black and white
shorts in a realm dominated by men. Her female colleagues in the world of experimental filmmaking
(artists like Leslie Thornton, Abigail Child, and Barbara Hammer) were few. Friedrich's early short
works, acclaimed at film festivals worldwide, gave way to more ambitious projects. The Ties That Bind (1984) explores her mother's
experience growing up in World War II Germany; Sink or Swim (1990) offers a quirky,
semi-autobiographical chronicle of a young girl's relationship with her father; and Damned If You
Don't (1987) combines clips from the Deborah Kerr classic Black Narcissus, text from the diaries of lesbian nuns,
and gorgeous narrative footage of a young nun's hesitant pursuit of her voluptuous neighbor.
Over the years Friedrich has lighted a path for a different kind of filmmaking -- and a different
kind of filmgoing experience. She has challenged her viewers by crafting non-traditional films
based on image, form, sensuality, and emotions. She is truly peerless, a filmmaker without equal.
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