Plot

Even if she tried, Gloria Orenstein would never go by unnoticed, no matter what she put her hands on. Renowned scholar, ecofeminist pioneer, expert in surrealist literature, highlighting women writers erased from the surrealist canon, a never-ending inspiration for hundreds of artists and intellectuals across the world. A collage that celebrates a passionate artist's legacy through her thoughts and ideas on life and art.—Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

In 1971, graduate student Gloria Orenstein receives a call from Surrealist artist Leonora Carrington that sparks a lifelong journey into art, ecofeminism and shamanism. A wife and mother of two writing her dissertation for New York University, Orenstein never expects to have her life transformed through female friendship. After corresponding for a time, Carrington whisks Orenstein off to the cafes of Paris where she witnesses the visionary art and personal struggles of Leonora Carrington, Jane Graverol, Leonor Fini and Meret Oppenheim. This leads Orenstein to write groundbreaking scholarly articles about women in Surrealism. A decade later, Orenstein is a beloved professor at the University of Southern California, creating the first international conference on Ecofeminism. She receives another call, this time from a shaman who whisks her off to the mountaintops of Samiland to experience her own mystical journey, one she thought was reserved only for the artists of Surrealism.

Dr. Gloria Feman Orenstein is a pioneer in the field of the women of Surrealism and scholar of Ecofeminism in the arts. Orenstein was a founder of the Women's Salon for Literature in New York City and a Professor of Comparative Literature and Gender Studies at the University of Southern California until her retirement. In February 2018, the national Women's Caucus for Art presented Dr. Orenstein with a Lifetime Achievement Award. Through the film Gloria's Call, Orenstein tells a very personal story that describes a life-changing chapter in her career and spiritual life.