The Ladies Almanack...A Feature Film
Wednesday, February 5, 2020 at 03:49PM 
When young Djuna Barnes arrives in Paris in 1926, she becomes enmeshed in the literary salon of Natalie Clifford Barney an American heiress, who has no use for Men, God or Monogamy. Natalie becomes the central character in Barnes’ novel, 'The Ladies Almanack', the story-within-the story. Natalie’s world is fraught with passionate romances, jealousies and tensions, yet friendship reigns supreme.
"Djuna Barnes' 1928 roman à clef is all about her lesbian expatriate circle in Paris, and its glittering cynosure, salon hostess Natalie Clifford Barney. Daviel Shy’s adaptation of The Ladies Almanack is a great introduction to this book, as well as a useful springboard for a discussion of contemporary queer identity. Her casting is as wry as Barnes’s drawings. It includes poet Eileen Myles as author Monique Wittig and critic Terry Castle as novelist Gertrude Stein. I would assign it to my students if it were readily available."
-M. G. Lord, Professor of English, USC
"The Ladies Almanack" extends the work of Greta Schiller's important 1996 documentary "Paris Was a Woman" by engaging with Djuna Barnes's often overlooked short work of lesbian and queer literature. Director Shy's collaborative film recalls Barnes's original, which was originally produced as a sort of in-joke pamphlet for the community it depicted. Shy's collage of vignettes also mirrors the structure of Barnes's original work, which, as an Almanack, goes month by month outlining the various members of her social scene. Shy's engagement with the queer and lesbian scene of the 1920s is of broad interest to LGBT literary studies scholars and students.
-Professor Emma Heaney, William Paterson University, Dept. of English; Author: "The New Woman: Literary Modernism, Queer Theory, and the TransFeminine Remainder
"Daviel, Wonderful funny sexy smart visually arresting clever time traveling- that ending, an erotic riot! Love and definitely want to watch it with a group when I return. Thank you so much for sharing with me!
From the heart, JA"
-Jerri Allyn respected LGBTQ artist and educator, co-founder of the Los Angeles Women's Video Center.
The Almanack is a "liberated art film narrative" Time slides backward and forward and surreal sequences illustrate the entanglements of Paris’s authors and artists. The film explores the decadant, defiant and often difficult lesbian landscape that gave rise to some of literature’s most treasured writing.
Watch trailer here:
THE LADIES ALMANACK_TRAILER_1080_EN.MP4 from sarasotafringefilms on Vimeo.
Access to a full screener is available upon request.
Watch a short interview With Daviel Shy, Director of "The Ladies Almanack"...
INTERVIEW WITH DAVIEL SHY, DIRECTOR OF "THE LADIES ALMANACK".mp4 from sarasotafringefilms on Vimeo.
In 1927, Barney established L'académie des Femmes in response to the lack of support and recognition for female authors in France. The film’s central concern is the authority to speak and to write as women. For creative women in 1920’s Paris, the centrality of the home space as a place of discourse, experimentation and creative gathering was crucial ground for social and professional self-determination. The characters in the film are women Barnes wrote about in the thinly coded language of her ground-breaking Ladies Almanack (1928); women who left a rich trove of fiction, essays, paintings and anecdotal history.
Availavle for Streaming on KANOPY
Academic Library and Personal DVD or File Purchase Options for The Ladies Almanack
A Note About Our Standard Academic and Institutional Pricing
Educational DVD with PPR: $150
Anytime you want to screen a film on campus, Public Performance Rights (PPR) need to be obtained. Copyright law (USC 17§101) defines a public performance as occurring in a public space or if it is in any place if "a substantial number of persons outside of a normal circle of a family and its acquaintances" is gathered there. This would include classrooms, meeting rooms, auditoriums, dorm lounges, etc. However, copyright law (USC 17§110) also provides an exception for face-to-face teaching activities in a nonprofit educational institution.
Digital Site License with PPR: $200
A DSL grants educational institutions and/or non-profit organizations a limited license to host and stream a film online to students, faculty and staff on their password-protected server. This license is granted for three years. The key advantage of purchasing a DSL is that once uploaded, an unlimited number of viewers can access the film from multiple locations simultaneously.
DVD + DSL bundle PPR: $225
K-12, Non-profit, Public Library with PPR: $62.50
Personal DVD or File Download: $24.50