A testament to the collaborative nature of art and show business, the career of beloved comic actor Lily Tomlin has long been intimately connected to that of her partner Jane Wagner. This dual retrospective considers their projects together across a variety of formats, in which writer and sometimes director Wagner’s sharp-eyed observations and deftly drawn characters are animated through Tomlin’s tremendous versatility on-screen. Two Free Women highlights a diverse selection of their films, including the classic one-woman opus The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, in which Tomlin shape-shifts between a dozen different personas; Tomlin’s dazzling performances in such movies as Nashville and 9 to 5; as well as a bevy of rarities, including the touching, Wagner-penned childhood drama J.T. The scope of their work suggests the breadth of a lasting and fruitful partnership that reshaped the art of American comedy and expanded its feminist imagination.

Organized by Thomas Beard and Hilton Als.

Special Thanks: