AllMovie

The Royal Road is a 2015 documentary film directed by Jenni Olson. The film premiered in the New Frontier section of the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. In the film's voiceover, Olson reflects on her butch identity and experiences of unrequited love. The film went on to earn the award for Best LGBTQ Film at the 2015 Ann Arbor Film Festival. Consisting entirely of 16mm urban landscape shots and a lyrical stream of consciousness voiceover, the film touches on a wide range of topics from reflections on classic Hollywood film to the history of the Spanish colonization of California and the Mexican American War. A voiceover cameo appearance by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner serves as the centerpiece for the film's focal point segment entitled, "In Defense of Nostalgia."