Love Between the Covers
US | 2015 | 86 minutes | Color | DVD | Order No. 161173
SYNOPSIS
Romance fiction outsells all other genres of writing, from crime to science fiction, combined. So why is the genre so often dismissed as frivolous "scribble"? Could it be that it's because the overwhelming majority of writers and readers are women? This funny and inspiring look into a billion dollar industry turns up trailblazers who push the discussion on gender, race, sexuality and diversity at the front lines of the biggest power shift in publishing.
In LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS Emmy Award® Winning director Laurie Kahn (TUPPERWARE!, A MIDWIFE'S TALE) turns her insightful eye towards another American pop culture phenomenon: the romance industry. Creating online empires and inventing new markets are authors like Beverly Jenkins, a pioneer of African American romance, Len Barot (aka Radclyffe, L.L. Raand), a surgeon and lesbian-romance legend who started her own publishing house, and the incomparable Nora Roberts. This documentary offers fascinating insights into the history and popularity of this female-centric literary world.
Book LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS filmmaker Laurie Kahn to speak at your university PRESS
“Upbeat and heartfelt..."
"The film surprises with its feminist message… This is the one place where you will consistently find women’s sexuality treated fairly and positively.”
"For viewers who know little or nothing about romance fiction, Kahn’s documentary will deliver one astonishment after another."
“…an affectionate look at the vast, unheralded community of women who have effectively kept the publishing industry afloat..."
“Love is a great choice for cultural sociologists in general and for classroom use."
“Groundbreaking exploration of a billion dollar business dominated by women.”
"If your library owns romances, show readers some love and buy this film."
"Writers and fans demonstrate affection and mutual respect for each other in this well-edited program that will be devoured by romance readers, aspiring writers, and anyone who loves reading."
"***...Recommended… Laurie Kahn’s lively documentary LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS makes a solid case for an appreciation of a much maligned genre."
"If you want to understand what makes the most popular of popular genres tick, hurry up and watch Love Between the Covers. A refreshingly smart look at romance fiction today, yesterday, and tomorrow."
"Covers is a fabulous little film, even if you don't have strong feelings one way or another about romance novels. It will also show you that there's much more to them than you might think."
"Kahn’s intimate and inspirational film offers a glimpse into their supportive and creative community."
"Love Between the Covers is an unexpectedly compelling exploration of the romance novel industry."
"A fascinating documentary."
"Delightful...sharp and affectionate...it should also be observed with keen interest by anyone who wants to understand how incredibly friendly and supportive an industry driven by women, for women can be, how collaboration trumps competition."
"LOVE BETWEEN THE COVERS is a valuable resource: a lively collection of interviews and footage that is sure to stimulate thought. The greatest achievement of Love Between the Covers is that it presents the complexity of romance fiction as an ecosystem...... sociologically minded students and scholars will value the insights into romance fiction’s intricate, vibrant networks and systems."
SCREENING HIGHLIGHTS AND AWARDS
- Mill Valley Film Festival
- Provincetown International Film Festival
- Hot Docs Documentary Film Festival
- Los Angeles Film Festival
- Newburyport Documentary Film Festival
- Woods Hole Film Festival
- Independent Film Festival Boston
- St. Louis Film Festival
- Cincinnati Film Festival
- Sidewalk Film Festival
ABOUT FILMMAKER(S)
Director/Producer/Writer LAURIE KAHN is devoted to bringing the lives and work of compelling women to the screen. Her films have won major awards, been shown on PBS primetime, broadcast around the world, screened at prominent museums, and used widely in university classrooms and community groups.
Laurie's first film, A Midwife's Tale, was based on Laurel Thatcher Ulrich's Pulitzer Prize-winning book. It won film festival awards and a primetime EMMY for Outstanding Non-Fiction. Her film TUPPERWARE! won the George Foster Peabody Award and was nominated for the primetime EMMY for Nonfiction Directing. Her most recent film, Love Between the Covers, received glowing reviews worldwide and five stars at Netflix, Amazon, and iTunes. In 2000, Laurie produced an award-winning interactive website, DoHistory.org.
Before Laurie founded her own production company, she worked on Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965, The American Experience, Frontline's four-hour series Crisis in Central America, All Things Considered, and Time Out. Many years ago, she taught philosophy at Harvard and Tufts. And she has been a Resident Scholar at the Women's Studies Research Center at Brandeis University since 2004.
Laurie is currently writing her first dramatic feature film screenplay -- based on the true story of a remarkable group of 13 intrepid female pilots at the dawn of the Space Age. (07/19)
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