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When Shirley Met Florence

1994 27 min
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This short documentary offers an intimate portrait of two women in their mid-sixties—one homosexual, the other heterosexual—whose love for one another and the music they create together transcends differences. Florence and Shirley's lifelong attachment is a heartwarming connection that defies categorization.

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When Shirley Met Florence

Details

This short documentary offers an intimate portrait of two women in their mid-sixties—one homosexual, the other heterosexual—whose love for one another and the music they create together transcends differences. Florence and Shirley's lifelong attachment is a heartwarming connection that defies categorization.
  • director
    Ronit Bezalel
  • producer
    Judith Merritt
    Wolf Koenig
  • executive producer
    Don Haig
  • camera
    Craig Lapp
    Jeremiah Hayes
  • editing
    Annie Ilkow
  • sound editing
    Jacques Comtois
  • mixer
    Jacques Comtois
  • music
    Patrick Fischer

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Education

Ages 15 to 18
School subjects

This film focuses more on the platonic friendship that Shirley and Florence had rather than on the challenges that lesbians would have faced during this time period. Find out what the laws against homosexuality were at the time. Describe how Shirley and Florence were able to maintain their friendship over so many decades. What does this suggest about their individual characters and how they were able to overcome discrimination during these years?

When Shirley Met Florence
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