The Archivettes

“Our history was disappearing as quickly as we were making it. ” With that realization, Deborah Edel and Joan Nestle co-founded the Lesbian Herstory Archives, the world’s largest collection of materials by and about lesbians. For more than 40 years, through many of the major milestones in LGBTQIA+ history, the all-volunteer organization has literally rescued history from the trash. Now the co-founders are in their mid-70s, and the group faces a number of challenges: A transfer of leadership. The rise of digital technology. A renewed call to activism in a politically charged moment. The Archivettes is a documentary film that explores how this group came together to combat lesbian invisibility and create “a place that says yes.”