Gloria’s Call
Word count: 416
Paragraphs: 9
Cheri Gaulke, Gloria’s Call (four stills), 2018.
From the cafés of Paris to the mountaintops of Samiland, a scholar’s life is forever changed through her friendships with the women artists of Surrealism.
In 1971, then-graduate student Gloria Orenstein received a phone call from Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington that sparked a lifelong journey into art, ecofeminism, and shamanism.
From the spellbinding incantations of Carrington, the uninhibited bodily expressions of Leonor Fini, and the dark confessions of Meret Oppenheim, to the guttural utterances of Jane Graverol and late-night spirit voices in Samiland—these moments shaped Orenstein’s wild adventures through the seventies and eighties.
The first time I heard Gloria Orenstein recount these stories, I was captivated. It was 2016, at a Surrealist-themed tea party celebrating the fortieth anniversary of the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art. As Gloria shared her encounters with these trailblazing women, I found myself wondering: Why don’t we know more about these incredible artists and their inspiring tales of defying the conventions of their time?
That moment planted the seed for Gloria’s Call (2018). Film felt like the perfect medium to bring Gloria’s extraordinary stories—and the work of the women artists she befriended—to a wider audience. I shared my idea with close friends Cheryl Bookout, Anne Gauldin, Sue Maberry, and Christine Papalexis, who enthusiastically joined as co-producers.
We began by filming Gloria as she narrated her story, then brought it to life through colorful stop motion animation. The artwork of the Surrealist artists she encountered—Leonora Carrington, Leonor Fini, Jane Graverol, and Meret Oppenheim—served as the visual foundation. For the segment on Gloria’s encounters with Ellen Marit Gaup Dunfjeld, the Shaman of Samiland, we collaborated with animator Stephanie Delazeri. The film’s rich texture was further enhanced by acclaimed composer Miriam Cutler and performance artist Anna Homler’s exquisite music.
Since its completion in 2019, Gloria’s Call has screened at over forty film festivals, including Slamdance, Hot Docs, and the Ann Arbor Film Festival, where it won Best Documentary. It has also garnered awards such as the Audience Award at the Nevada City Film Festival and Best Art, Architecture, and Design Film at the Newport Beach Film Festival. Most recently, it was screened at the 2022 Venice Biennale.
The film is available on Vimeo On Demand. To watch the trailer and learn more about the film and its featured artists, visit https://gloriascall.com.
More About Gloria Orenstein
Gloria Feman Orenstein is Professor Emerita in Comparative Literature and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California. Her scholarly work spans Surrealism, feminist literature and arts, ecofeminism, and shamanism.
Her influential books include The Theater Of The Marvelous: Surrealism and the Contemporary Stage (1975), The Reflowering Of The Goddess (1990), and Reweaving the World: The Emergence of Ecofeminism (1990, editor).
In the 1980s, Orenstein was invited by the Shaman of Samiland (Lapland, Northern Norway) to study with her in Alta, Norway—an experience that profoundly shaped her work and continued for almost five years. Orenstein also founded The Woman’s Salon in New York City, which became a vital gathering place for feminist artists and writers for over a decade starting in 1975.
Reflecting on her remarkable life, Orenstein shares:
“While my life has had its challenging moments […] I am fulfilled by the wondrous journeys I have made to the realms of the Marvelous, the Magical, the Great Goddess and the Shamanic Mysteries, and I will be forever grateful to the teachers who inspired me and to the feminist activists on whose strong shoulders we now stand as we welcome new generations of visionaries expanding our feminist legacy into the new millennium
Credits
Director: Cheri Gaulke
Producers: Anne Gauldin, Cheryl Bookout, Sue Maberry, Christine Papalexis
Animators: Stephanie Delazeri (additional animation), Cheri Gaulke, Anne Gauldin, Cheryl Bookout, Sue Maberry, Christine Papalexis
Cinematography: Daniel Lynn
Music: Miriam Cutler
Performance Art: Anna Homler
Co-Producers: Jehan Agrama, Dwora Fried
With support from the Southern California Women’s Caucus for Art
More About Cheri Gaulke
Cheri Gaulke is a pioneer of the feminist art movement in Los Angeles, celebrated for her innovative work in film and visual art. Her award-winning films have screened at international film festivals, and her artwork has been exhibited in prestigious venues such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), and a Smithsonian-touring exhibition. Gaulke’s creativity has also reached unconventional spaces, including buses, churches, and prehistoric temples.
Over her fifty-year career, Gaulke has created thirty media works spanning documentaries, personal narratives, experimental films, and video installations. Her recent films include Miss Alma Thomas: A Life in Color (2021), a museum film honoring the under-recognized African-American artist; Inside the Beauty Bubble (2021), a portrait of a gay roadside attraction owner in Joshua Tree, California (Best Documentary, Deep in the Heart Film Festival; Audience Awards at SLO Film Festival and Dances with Films); and Old Girl in a Tutu: Susan Rennie Disrupts Art History (2024), a celebration of a queer, octogenarian artist.
Gaulke’s work has been supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the City of Los Angeles, the California Community Foundation, and California Humanities. She is currently in post-production on Acting Like Women, a feature documentary exploring the vibrant feminist performance art scene of 1970s–80s Los Angeles.
Learn more at https://cherigaulke.com and https://actinglikewomen.com.
Cheri Gaulke is a pioneer of the feminist art movement in Los Angeles, celebrated for her innovative work in film and visual art. Her award-winning films have screened at international film festivals, and her artwork has been exhibited in prestigious venues such as the Museum of Modern Art (New York), the Museum of Contemporary Art (Los Angeles), and a Smithsonian-touring exhibition. Gaulke’s creativity has also reached unconventional spaces, including buses, churches, and prehistoric temples.