Out screenwriter/filmmaker Jane Anderson has written some of our favorite episodes of TV and made-for-television movies. From her first gig on The Facts of Life to her tear-jerking “1961” segment on If These Walls Could Talk 2, to last year’s award-winning Olive Kitteridge, Jane has been masterful in the world of fictitious characters. But now she’s in front of the camera to talk about some family history that sounds like it could have been something out of one of her films.
Jane’s great aunt Edith Lake Wilkinson was a lesbian artist who lived from 1868 to 1957. Sadly, she was committed to a sanitarium for the mentally ill by her family, likely inspired by her close relationship with “female companion, Fannie.” Since the 1970s, Jane has tried to find recognition for Edith’s inspired paintings, but was met with resistance. In 2013, she took up trying once more, and this time, brought cameras along. The final product is the HBO documentary Packed in a Trunk: The Lost Art of Edith Lake Wilkinson, which will debut on July 20, 2015 on HBO.
We have an exclusive clip from the film, which has Jane talking about her connection to her great aunt Edith.
For more on Packed in a Trunk, visit the film’s website.
