Lisa Cholodenko’s ‘High Art’ Gets A Stunning 4K Restoration And New York Premiere
Check out the new 4K trailer and don’t miss this gorgeously restored piece of lesbian cinema.
It’s been over 25 years since Lisa Cholodenko’s High Art first mesmerized audiences with its intoxicating portrayal of ambition, sapphic desire, and self-destruction. Now, thanks to a breathtaking 4K restoration, the 1998 indie gem is set to captivate a whole new generation of viewers. The film will have its New York premiere as part of NewFest’s Queering the Canon: So Obsessed series this April, bringing its raw, melancholic beauty back to the big screen where it belongs.
A staple of New Queer Cinema, High Art follows Syd (Radha Mitchell), a young editor at a hip magazine, who becomes entangled in the tumultuous world of her upstairs neighbor, Lucy Berliner (Ally Sheedy). Once a celebrated photographer, Lucy now lives in the shadows, numbed by heroin and the suffocating presence of her volatile girlfriend, Greta (Patricia Clarkson), a washed-up German actress. As Syd and Lucy’s creative collaboration intensifies, so does their undeniable attraction—setting off a chain of events that threatens to consume them both.
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The film’s arrival in 4K is a major event for queer cinephiles. Restored by the Academy Film Archive and UCLA Film & Television Archive in partnership with the Sundance Institute, this new version revitalizes the film’s hauntingly intimate cinematography, capturing every grainy, dreamlike detail of its moody, late-’90s New York setting. The restoration was made possible through funding from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Frameline, and other dedicated film preservationists.
NewFest will host High Art’s New York premiere on April 3 at Brooklyn’s BAM, with Cholodenko and Sheedy in attendance. Additional screenings will follow at MoMA on April 1 for members, as well as a wider theatrical release beginning April 4 at IFC Center. Los Angeles audiences can catch the film at Vidiots on April 8 and the Egyptian Theatre on April 9.
When it first premiered at Sundance, High Art was an immediate critical darling, winning the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and cementing Cholodenko’s status as a formidable storyteller. In the years since, she has continued to explore complex relationships and queer narratives, earning an Academy Award nomination for The Kids Are All Right and directing acclaimed projects like HBO’s Olive Kitteridge and Netflix’s Unbelievable.
For longtime fans and first-time viewers alike, this restoration of High Art is a chance to revisit (or newly discover) one of the most evocative and emotionally layered queer films of its era. Whether you’re drawn to its smoldering romance, its razor-sharp critique of artistic exploitation, or simply Sheedy’s career-defining performance, High Art in 4K is an experience not to be missed.
Check out the brand-new 4K trailer below:
