Surviving Desire is a 1991 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Hal Hartley and starring Martin Donovan, Julie Kessler, Matt Malloy, Merritt Nelson, and Mary B. Ward.
College professor Jude (Donovan) becomes smitten with a student named Sofie (Ward). The two enjoy a brief time together, only to find that numerous obstacles, both tangible and intangible, prevent them from moving forward. Their conflict begins to expose parallels with the themes Jude covers in his literature class.
Surviving Desire is generally distributed with two other short films by Hartley, Theory of Achievement and Ambition.