Genre
Synopsis
INSIDE THE BEAUTY BUBBLE is a short documentary film about an eccentric and renowned collector of hair artifacts fighting to keep his desert dreams alive. The Beauty Bubble Salon & Museum in Joshua Tree is the magical and kitsch-filled brainchild of Jeff Hafler.
The film covers a year in the life of Jeff and his roadside attraction as they face lockdowns, protests and massive societal change. It is a film about family, fabulousness and folk art, a film that reminds us it’s sometimes the strong people on the margins that hold a community together.
Bio
Cheri Gaulke is a pioneer in the feminist art movement in Los Angeles affiliated with the Woman’s Building working in film and visual art. Her award-winning films have screened in film festivals internationally. Gaulke’s work has been presented at the Museum of Modern Art (NY), the Museum of Contemporary Art (LA), in a Smithsonian-touring exhibition, and in settings all over the world including buses, churches, and prehistoric temples. In her almost 50-year career, Gaulke has created 30 media works including documentaries, experimental personal narratives, and video installations. Gaulke has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, City of Los Angeles, California Community Foundation, and California Humanities. Recent films include GLORIA’S CALL about women artists of surrealism (Best Documentary at Ann Arbor Film Festival), MISS ALMA THOMAS: A LIFE IN COLOR about an under-recognized African-American artist (traveling with a museum retrospective exhibition), INSIDE THE BEAUTY BUBBLE about the owner of a roadside attraction in Joshua Tree California (numerous audience and other festival awards), and the recently completed OLD GIRL IN A TUTU: SUSAN RENNIE DISRUPTS ART HISTORY about a queer, octogenarian artist. She is in post-production on her first feature documentary, ACTING LIKE WOMEN, about feminist performance art in 1970s-80s Los Angeles https://actinglikewomen.com/.
Screening History
Premiere - American Documentary and Animation Film Festival 2022
Official Selection - Frameline 2022
Official Selection - Nevada City Film Festival 2022
Official Selection - Dances with Films 2022
Official Selection - Cleveland International Film Festival 2023
Awards History
Heart of Gold Award - Nevada City Film Festival 2022
Audience Award - San Luis Obispo Film Festival 2022
Audience Award - Dances with Films 2022
Credits
Subject - Jeff Hafler
Cinematographer - Nick Lieberman
Editor - Susan Metzger
Original Music - Jeff Hafler
Animation - C. Lily Ericsson