Today, I’m joined by Peabody Award-winning documentary filmmaker Vivian Kleiman. In her latest film, No Straight Lines: The Rise of Queer Comics, Vivian offers an intimate look at five pioneers of queer comics: Alison Bechdel, Rupert Kinnard, Howard Cruse, Jen Camper, and Mary Wings. The film also introduces a new generation of LGBTQ+ artists creating comics. In our conversation, Vivian and I discuss how this project came about and her thought process behind certain cinematic touches. Vivian hits on some of the storytelling conflicts she went through while creating the film, including how to bring the viewers into the hearts and minds of the featured artists. We also talk about what it means for a film like this to be picked up by PBS, given the current political climate. Although she originally imagined No Straight Lines on a streaming platform like Netflix or HBO, it ultimately landed with Independent Lens, the independent documentary film branch of PBS. Vivian shares her approach to conforming with the FCC guidelines in a way that honors the content, but makes it available to a wide audience. You can watch No Straight Lines for free on PBS until April 23, 2023. If you’re catching this episode after that date, it’s still available for a small fee as a PBS member. Subscribe, rate, and review on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or on your favorite podcast platform. Topics Covered: ● Why Vivian pursued this film, even though she doesn't identify as a ‘comic geek’ ● The importance of having queer stories represented in comics that are humorous, but also poignant ● How Vivian came up with a way to portray these artists and their work in a dynamic way ● Celebrating Tongues Untied, a landmark film she produced with Marlon Riggs, entering into the in the National Film Registry Guest Info: ● Vivian's Website ● Vivian's Instagram ● Vivian's LinkedIn ● No Straight Lines Website Follow Me: ● My LinkedIn ● Art Heals All Wounds Website ● Art Heals All Wounds Instagram ● Art Heals All Wounds Twitter ● Art Heals All Wounds Facebook ● Art Heals All Wounds Newsletter