Outliers and Outlaws

Screen the award winning documentary followed by Q & A with film creators.

Q & A with director Courtney Herman and producer Judith Raiskin follows screening. 

This event is in partnership with Deschutes County Historic Museum. Following the event three study rooms will be staffed with volunteers who will be collecting storycorps style reflections from community members. The recordings will be archived and preserved. 

Outliers and Outlaws uncovers the history of a large and vibrant lesbian community in Eugene, Oregon. Lesbians who migrated to this small city in the 1960s-90s candidly share stories about the power of courageous and creative world-building. Intimate portraits–both then and now–model living in hard times with hope, humor, and commitment to social change. Narrated by musician Jody Bleyle (Team Dresch and Hazel) Outliers and Outlaws includes a rich archive of images documenting this groundbreaking community. 

About the Director:

Courtney Hermann (she/they) is a documentary filmmaker with decades of experience directing, producing, and shooting short and feature-length documentary films. Courtney is co-author of the 7th edition of the foundational textbook Directing the Documentary (2020) with Michael Rabiger and an Associate Professor of Film at Portland State University. Courtney’s feature documentaries include Standing Silent Nation (nationally broadcast on POV/PBS, programmed at the Smithsonian Institution); Exotic World and the Burlesque Revival (selected for dOCUMENTA 15, featured daily at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum); and Crying Earth Rise Up (broadcast on PBS stations nationally). Courtney’s many short films include There’s Heart Here (featured at United States Conference on AIDS and at the World Professional Association for Transgender Health conference) and Burton Before and After. www.boxcarassembly.com 

About the Producer:

Judith Raiskin (she/they) co-created The Eugene Lesbian Oral History Project, a multi-platform public history project about the community of lesbians in Eugene, Oregon from the 1960s-90s. From 83 oral history interviews and a robust archival collection, Professor Raiskin co-created an interactive digital exhibit and a physical museum exhibit which was installed for a year at the Museum of Natural and Cultural History in Eugene. The exhibit included a lecture series and guided walking tours of the town and its lesbian history, and will next be installed at the Oregon Jewish Museum. As a Professor of Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the University of Oregon, Judith teaches courses in the fields of disability studies, LGBTQ history and culture, literature, and archival research. They are the faculty director of the LGBTQ+ Scholars Residential Academic Community, a unique community and service to LGBTQ+ students on the University of Oregon campus which she helped found. Professor Raiskin has received numerous awards for her work related to The Eugene Lesbian History Project including grants from the Oregon Cultural Trust.

Questions? Contact lizg@deshuteslibrary.org