Join the CCA Film Program's Directing course in welcoming noted experimental filmmaker Jenni Olson, who will present several of her rarely screened short films and videos and discuss short-form cinematic storytelling.

As an experimental filmmaker, Olson’s unique urban landscape films have been shown at film festivals around the world and have earned critical and popular acclaim for their unique storytelling style. Notably, Olson's innovative experimental feature, The Joy of Life won the 2005 Marlon Riggs Award for courage and innovation in Bay Area filmmaking. As a queer media historian, activist, author, and online pioneer, Olson has been a longtime champion of LGBT film and filmmakers around the world.

Olson’s most recent short film, 575 Castro St., premiered at Sundance and the Berlinale in early 2009 and has been making the rounds on the film festival circuit -- it can also be seen online at FilmInFocus.com and on continual display at 575 Castro Street (home of the Human Rights Campaign Store). She is currently in development on a new feature, The Royal Road.