Synopsis

Young magazine editor Syd becomes fascinated by Lucy, a once-famous photographer living upstairs with her troubled girlfriend and a circle of bohemian friends. When Syd helps bring Lucy back into the art world, their professional collaboration develops into an intense affair. As ambition, addiction, and desire collide, Syd must confront the personal cost of entering Lucy's volatile world.

Factoids & Trivia

• High Art was Lisa Cholodenko's feature-film debut. The screenplay won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival.

• Cholodenko drew inspiration from the 1990s "heroin chic" aesthetic and from photographers associated with the Boston School, including Nan Goldin and David Armstrong.

• Lucy Berliner's photographs were created for the film by photographer Jojo Whilden. Their raw, intimate style was deliberately influenced by Goldin's work.

• The fictional photography magazine is called Frame, a name that reflects both its connection to photography and Syd's attempt to shape Lucy's image for the art world.

• Ally Sheedy's performance earned major recognition from the Independent Spirit Awards, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, and the National Society of Film Critics.

• The film became an important title in late-1990s queer independent cinema and was later described by its distributor as a landmark of queer film.

• A 4K restoration was produced by the Academy Film Archive and the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the Sundance Institute. Its restoration premiere took place in October 2024.