Blue Diary world premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in February 1998. The 20th anniversary HD scan from the original elements is a huge improvement on the former SD version that's been available online previously. Blue Diary was shot by noted experimental filmmaker and artist William E. Jones, cut by acclaimed San Francisco editor Dawn Logsdon, and the voiceover is performed by talented indie director Silas Howard (then known as Lynn Flipper). As the initial foray into 16mm urban landscape filmmaking by writer-director Jenni Olson, Blue Diary establishes many of the themes that Olson would explore further in her subsequent 16mm features, The Joy of Life and The Royal Road, and both films are also available through Frameline Distribution.