Dorothee, a would-be writer and journalist, who leaves Germany for the Oz of San Francisco, searching for her long-lost mother and a cure for the malady of love. Installed in the Tenderloin, she peeps in on neighbours’ bizarre sex rituals as well as does sightseeing of the more traditional kind. But encounters with male impersonator Ramona, charming Hungarian bohemian Dominique, and Susie Sexpert, barker for an all-girl strip show, lead to exploratory adventures of self-discovery and fun. When Dorothy surfaces like a dazzled tourist on the wilder shores of the city’s lesbian community, she has discovered her true sexuality. . . . and left some illusions behind.
Monika Treut (1954, Mönchengladbach)
For nearly two decades, German filmmaker Monika Treut’s films have depicted worlds that the mainstream media tends to treat as “deviant.” Her work consistently explores challenging and controversial issues surrounding minority sexual and gender identities. Born in Moenchengladbach, Germany, Treut studied literature and political science in Marburg/Lahn and wrote her doctoral dissertation on the Marquis de Sade and Leopold von Sacher-Masoch. It has been published as The Cruel Woman: Female Images in de Sade and von Sacher-Masoch.