SALLY! brings into focus the life and legacy of Sally Gearhart—a charismatic lesbian-feminist, activist, professor, and fantasy author. A trailblazer in the 1970s and ’80s U.S. lesbian feminist movement, Sally is a “hidden figure” deserving more attention: she was a key spokeswoman for an important period of women’s history.

The film makes clear most of us haven’t heard of Sally or her accomplishments largely due to the patriarchal lens through which history is recounted. At the same time, the documentary honestly and unflinchingly examines Sally’s contradictions, iconoclasm, and the complex relationship between spokeswomen like her and the movements for social change they champion, which are necessarily collective and layered.

Balancing humor, insight, and heart, SALLY! is both a celebration of a radical icon, a meditation on the tensions inherent in revolutionary movements, and a powerful reflection on the lessons her work offers for today’s struggles for civil rights, justice, and equality.

Director: Deborah Craig; Co-Directors: Ondine Rarey, Jörg Fockele (US 2024) 96 min