"Breathtaking." -Variety     °     “Beautiful.” -Out Magazine     °     "Profound.” -Village Voice 

The Royal Road — a film by Jenni Olson

Watch it FREE on Tubi.

Available FREE with your public library card or university login via Kanopy.​

​Get it on digital via: Vimeo, iTunes, VUDU, Xbox, GooglePlay,
Amazon Prime Video, WolfeOnDemand.

Buy the DVD from: WolfeVideo.com or Amazon
 ° Jury Award: Best LGBTQ Film — Ann Arbor Film Festival °

° Winner: Best Feature — Queer Porto LGBT Film Festival °

° Special Jury Mention — Dokufest: Intnl Documentary Fest °

° Lili Award: Documentary Special Mention —
MIX Copenhagen °

° Avant Garde & Genre Special Jury Mention: BAFICI   (Buenos Aires International Independent Cinema Festival) °

° Official Selection: Sundance Film Festival °
A cinematic essay in defense of remembering, The Royal Road offers up a primer on Junipero Serra's Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War alongside intimate reflections on nostalgia, the pursuit of unavailable women, butch identity and Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo — all against a contemplative backdrop of 16mm urban California landscapes, and featuring a voiceover cameo by Tony Kushner. This bold, innovative film from acclaimed San Francisco filmmaker Jenni Olson combines rigorous historical research with lyrically written personal monologue and relates these seemingly disparate stories from an intimate, colloquial perspective to tell a one-of-a-kind California tale.

The Royal Road (2015)
16mm on HD | 65 mins. | USA | color 
Writer-Director: Jenni Olson

 "A humorous exploration of butch romantic desires...a sort of butch reply to Ross McElwee’s classic Sherman’s March." 
                                                                                                                                                                                  - Berenice Reynaud, Senses of Cinema
To book The Royal Road at a film festival or other venue (or for educational/institutional purchase) please click thru HERE.
To reach Jenni Olson for interviews or other questions click the email contact button at the top right corner of this page.