Donna Deitch (born June 8, 1945) is an American film and television director, producer, screenwriter, and actor best known for her 1985 film Desert Hearts. The movie was the first feature film to "de-sensationalize lesbianism" by presenting a lesbian romance story with positive and respectful themes.

Career Desert Hearts (1985) Deitch segued from documentary filmmaker to producing and directing Desert Hearts, the landmark hit of the 1985 Telluride and Toronto International film festivals, and the 1986 Sundance Film Festival. It was picked up for worldwide distribution by The Samuel Goldwyn Company and established Deitch as a prominent lesbian filmmaker. Desert Hearts is an adaptation of Jane Rule's 1964 lesbian novel, Desert of the Heart.

Themes The most prominent themes in Desert Hearts include gender, sexuality, and family, specifically the ways in which lesbian identity can subvert Western-Colonial standards and ideals. This is witnessed through the setting of Reno, Nevada and the Western structures that the main characters navigate while carrying on a secret relationship. The main character, Vivian Bell (Helen Shaver), is a rigid University professor who travels to Reno following a divorce. Cay Rivvers (Patricia Charbonneau) is younger, free-spirited, and impulsive. "In her wildness, Cay embodies the characteristics associated with the reckless male outlaw figure of a traditional Western, even referring to her cottage as her “hideout'," with Vivian representing rigid social structures and repression of sexuality.

Lesbian eroticism and same-sex gaze are prominent themes in Desert Hearts. Deitch demonstrates Vivian and Cay's attraction to each other through subtle glances and touches, as well as the pivotal sex scene between the two towards the end of the film. Deitch uses the women's mutual, exchanging gazes to subvert the typical male gaze formula (a term coined by film theorist Laura Mulvey) where women in film are sexualized by being looked upon voyeuristically as objects. "Vivian and Cay engage in homoerotic visual interchanges that involve mutuality and reciprocity rather than dominance and submission."

Reception When Desert Hearts was released, there was little mainstream critical attention towards the film despite its popularity among lesbian and gay audiences. While some praised the film's positive representation of a lesbian relationship, primarily lesbian critics denounced it, many stating that Vivian and Cay are essentially a heterosexual couple "repackaged" into lesbian bodies. For example, Vivian is more passive and "feminine" while Cay is dominant and comfortable with her sexuality, pursuing Vivian and driving their romance forward, imitating the active/passive power dynamic of a heterosexual relationship. Other critics still regard the film to be important within lesbian film history, since it was directed by a lesbian and presents the audience with a "lesbian gaze."

Nevertheless, Desert Hearts was applauded for how it highlighted lesbian struggles in the fifties, since homosexuality was considered a mental disorder until 1973, only eleven years prior to the film's release. Considering Vivian's job as a professor, her career would have been jeopardized if her sexuality were exposed. Real threats of being exposed linger throughout the film, and further reinforce how critics believed Desert Hearts to be pivotal in lesbian cinematic history.

The sex scene at the climax of the film is also highly debated among lesbians due to it being toned down, with some critics stating that it was too tame while others saw it as extremely erotic and intimate. It does not use extreme nudity to attract its viewers, but the connection and chemistry between the two characters, the exchanging looks and soft touches, convey their mutual attraction. Yet, "as the scene progresses, it breaks down this active/passive dichotomy and conveys the mutuality of both women’s attraction to each other."

Other works Shortly after seeing Desert Hearts, Oprah Winfrey hired Deitch to direct the Emmy-nominated four-hour miniseries The Women of Brewster Place. Deitch directed, photographed, and edited Angel On My Shoulder, a feature-length documentary about her best friend, actress Gwen Welles, and her experience with terminal cancer. The film won the Gold Hugo for Best Documentary at the 1998 Chicago International Film Festival.

In a 2008 interview, she said she was working on obtaining financing for Blonde Ghost, a screenplay adapted from Stella, the 1992 non-fiction book by Peter Wyden about Stella Goldschlag, which takes place in Berlin during World War II. That same year, Deitch said that she was writing a sequel to Desert Hearts which would be set "in NYC in the late 60s."

Personal life Deitch is openly lesbian. Her partner is writer Terri Jentz.

Filmography Films Year Title Director Producer Screenwriter Cinematographer Editor Notes 1975 Woman to Woman Documentary 1977 The Great Wall of Los Angeles Documentary short 1985 Desert Hearts Cameo appearance: Hungarian Gambler Winner: Special Jury Prize – Dramatic, Sundance Film Festival, 1986 1994 Criminal Passion 1998 Angel on My Shoulder Documentary

Actor Year Title Role Notes 1969Several Friends Short film 1985Desert Hearts Hungarian Gambler Cameo appearance

Television Year Title Director Notes 1989The Women of Brewster Place Miniseries1990WIOU 1 episode1991Prison Stories: Women on the Inside TV film. Segment "1" 1991Veronica Clare 1 episode 1992Sexual Advances TV film 1994A Change of Place TV film 1994 Robin's Hoods 2 episodes 1995 ER 2 episodes 1995-1997 Murder One 5 episodes 1995-2003 NYPD Blue 13 episodes 1996 Second Noah 1 episode 1996 Moloney 1 episode 1997 Murder One: Diary of a Serial Killer Miniseries (final 6 episodes of Murder One) 1997EZ Streets 1 episode 1997 Total Security 1 episode 1997 The Visitor 1 episode 1997 Dellaventura 1 episode 1998 Nothing Sacred 1 episode 1998 C-16: FBI 1 episode 1999 The Devil's Arithmetic TV film 2000 Common Ground TV film 2000-2001 The $treet 2 episodes 2001-2007 Crossing Jordan 9 episodes 2002-2011 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit 3 episodes 2003 Judging Amy 1 episode 2003 L.A. Dragnet 1 episode 2004 Wild Card 1 episode 2005 South of Nowhere 2 episodes 2006Bones 1 episode 2006 Heroes 1 episode 2007 Eureka 1 episode 2009-2010 Private Practice 4 episodes 2010 Grey's Anatomy 1 episode 2010 Army Wives 1 episode 2011 Off the Map 1 episode 2011 A Gifted Man 1 episode 2013 The Glades 1 episode 2016 Greenleaf 1 episode

Accolades Year Work Award Result Ref 1986 Desert Hearts Special Jury Prize – Dramatic • Sundance Film Festival 1986 Desert Hearts Grand Jury Prize – Dramatic • Sundance Film Festival 1996 NYPD Blue, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Dramatic Series • Directors Guild of America 1998 Angel on My Shoulder Gold Hugo – Best Documentary • Chicago International Film Festival 2000 The Devil's Arithmetic Emmy Award – Outstanding Directing in a Children's Special • National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences 2008 Heroes Hugo Award – Best Dramatic Presentation - Long Form • World Science Fiction Society 2008 Outfest Achievement Award • Outfest

See also List of female film and television directors List of lesbian filmmakers List of LGBT-related films directed by women

References

External links

Donna Deitch Blog (archived March 8, 2012) 'Angel On My Shoulder' (Documentary Feature) at Donna Deitch website (archived May 17, 2010)