“A breathtaking cinematic essay…a masterpiece.”

— Sam Fragoso,

“Intimate…ambitious. ”

— Boyd van Hoeif,

“A beguiling meditation….serenely accomplished.”

— Dennis Harvey,

“Ravishingly lensed landscapes appear at once mysterious and obvious…With heartbreaking candor and rigidly honed research that melds personal, cinematic and national history into one contemplative critique, THE ROYAL ROAD attempts to memorialize these locales while unpacking the aberrant psychology of a filmmaker whose romantic pursuits are haunted by history before they even begin. ”

— Jordan M. Smith,

“Sundance world premiere THE ROYAL ROAD looks to be one of the most ambitious documentary projects at this year’s Sundance Film Festival.”

— Ryan Lattanzio,

“Olson is a longtime writer, curator, and maker of queer films and THE ROYAL ROAD, screening in Sundance’s New Frontier section, is certainly one of the big question marks that could prove to be one of the richer and more rewarding offerings in this year’s programming.”

Top LBGT Pick of Sundance.

— Ibad Shah,

“Even at the Sundance Film Festival where one can see just about everything under the sun, there’s bound to be nothing else quite like THE ROYAL ROAD.”

— Stephen Saito,

“Olson represents a very important voice to be heard.”

— Don Simpson,