"SALLY!" The Documentary

The Napa Valley College Pride Learning Community is dedicated to fostering student success through an immersive and supportive academic experience. By learning together in an engaging and inclusive environment, students build strong connections with faculty, staff, and each other—creating a vibrant community where everyone can thrive.

As part of our commitment to celebrating LGBTQ+ history and advocacy, we invite you to a special screening of SALLY!, a powerful documentary about Sally Gearhart, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s and queer rights. From her activism alongside Harvey Milk to her pioneering work in feminism and fantasy literature, Sally’s legacy has shaped generations—yet her story remains largely untold. Proceeds from the screening will be used to fund the Pride Learning Community at Napa Valley College.

SALLY!

She spearheaded some of the greatest battles for women’s and gay rights. A brilliant and sexy superstar who inspired thousands. So how come you’ve never heard of Sally Gearhart?

SYNOPSIS

“Sally!” the feature documentary begins with Sally Gearhart at the height of her powers in the 1970s. She was one of second-wave feminism’s most beloved icons, penned a cult classic fantasy novel about a female utopia and fought one of history’s greatest battles for queer rights shoulder-to-shoulder with Harvey Milk. But fast forward to 2008 and Sally has been largely forgotten by history—not to mention erased from the Hollywood film “Milk.” Yet rather than simply resurrecting her legacy and glorifying one woman’s story, “Sally!” now takes a more collectivist turn. The film traces Sally’s life trajectory through the eyes of the exceptional women who fought for justice by her side, revealing that Sally not only instigated the political movements that made her famous but was also deeply shaped by them. Finally, when we revisit Sally in 2014, she is living alone on Women’s Land, without the community she helped create.

What happened and what will become of her legacy?

FILMMAKER STATEMENT

In 2014, while shooting a documentary about lesbians and aging, I stumbled across octogenarian Sally Gearhart living alone in a remote cabin in the Northern California woods. Charmed by this fascinating woman—sporting paint-stained jeans, rumpled T-shirt, and bright pink lipstick—I realized that she was once a beloved lesbian-feminist icon and began recording her story. I filmed Sally repeatedly until her death in 2021 and had the deep pleasure of connecting with dozens of her equally brilliant friends, colleagues, students, former lovers, and fellow activists. As a 60+ gay woman I hope to underscore that both lesbians and older women are too often missing from the picture. Our struggle to find footage and photos of Sally, and even to get funded, is a message about underrepresentation even within the underrepresented LGBTQ+ community. In my own small way, I hope to change that with “Sally.” Lastly, my mom came out at 50—when I did at 18—and “Sally” is a testimonial to her courage in being true to herself, despite being genuinely terrified.

For More Information Contact:

Greg Miraglia, LGBT Eduation Program Coordinator707-256-7710 or [email protected]

Host or Publisher Napa Valley College