Continuing their 30th anniversary celebration, Lesbian Looks is thrilled to welcome director, producer, editor and screenwriter Jan Oxenberg to present 4K restorations of two of her classic films.
A lost-and-found revelation from indie film and TV maverick Jan Oxenberg, Thank You and Good Night is a docu-fantasy narrative focused on the filmmaker’s hilarious, messy, Jewish family as they prepare to say goodbye to someone they love. Narrated by a cardboard cutout of Oxenberg’s scowling child self, the film takes us on a journey through the proceedings, attempting to defeat death and never say goodbye. An early Sundance hit but virtually unseen for decades, this new restoration offers an opportunity to discover a wildly innovative, lost masterwork of documentary filmmaking: a singular, uncategorizable exploration of the meaning of life, death, and the tangled stuff that is a family. In this poignant, hilarious, and complex reflection on letting go, Oxenberg transforms personal tragedy into universally resonant art that is now claiming its rightful place as a classic of independent cinema.
The program opens with Oxenberg’s 1973 short Home Movie. Using home movie footage and her trademark talent for parody, Oxenberg gives herself a cheerful lesbian childhood: “The thing I liked best about being a cheerleader was being with the other cheerleaders.”
THANK YOU AND GOOD NIGHT (Jan Oxenberg, 1992)
Loft Cinema
Tues Feb 13, 7pm
FREE – tickets available day of screening
IN PERSON: Jan Oxenberg
Reviews, trailer, and more at the LLooks website.
Co-sponsors of Lesbian Looks 2024 include the UA LGBTQ+ Institute the Hanson Film/TV Institute, and the School of Theatre, Film & Television