Queer Innovators Queer Innovators is a six-part se ries honoring the contr i b utions experimenta l l esbian and gay fi l m ma kers have m a d e to t h e h i story of ci nema. "Queer" c a n a lso m e a n t o s kew, t o deviate from conventi ons, to al ter. These progra ms explore how les bian a n d gay fi l m ma kers h ave attem pted to q u eer ci nema , to fas h i on n ew c i n e matic forms and explore new identities as they e m bark on what Sue Golding ca lls "the ever- i m possi ble jou rney to fi nd out . " Th ree shorts progra ms trace the u ncommon th reads that reflect a n d sha pe t h e d ivers ity of our com m u n ity. De pictions of sexua l ity a re the s u bject of o u r program Desire: Poetics & Pornography, w h i c h i n c l udes such c l assics as J ea n G e n et's
Un
Chant
D'Amour,
B a r ba ra
H a m m er's Dyketactics, Isaac J u lien's The Attendant a nd Ke n neth A nger's Fireworks. The films in Performing Identity: Parody & Punk ta ke a h i l a rious j a u nt through kitsch and
ca m p , a n d
i n c l u d e J a c k Sm ith 's
Overstimulated, Jan Oxen berg's A Comedy In Six Unnatural Acts, Ch eryl Du nye 's Janine, a n d George Kuchar's Hold Me While I'm Naked. Showcased in AutolBio: Personal Her/History a re such extraord inary works as Marlon R i ggs's Anthem, Wa rren Son bert's Amphetamine, and Su Fried rich's Gently Down The Stream. Taken together, these doc u m e nts
of
perso nal
experience
contri b ute to the creation of an i nclusive h i story. Featu re progra ms at the Castro h igh light the work of Cha nta l Akerm a n and U l ri ke Ottinger. C ha nta l A kerma n's Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai Du Commerce,
1080
Bruxelles traces a wom a n 's oppressive d a i ly routi ne with a d ispassionate eye, while her h i larious short, J'ai Faim, J'ai Froid fol l ows
Ticket Of No Return
two teenage girls as they gidd i ly run away to the big city. U l ri ke Otti nger's Ticket Of No Return charts a nother tri p - one wom a n 's d ru n ken sightseeing tou r of B e rl i n . This outrageous classic puts the h it series " Absolutely Fa b u l ous" to shame. Lastly, Planting Seeds: A New Prehistory brings togeth er th ree classic fi l ms to which m a ny of the later films i n this series a re i n d e bted . With Meshes Of The Afternoon, Maya Deren i na ugurated the American avant-garde by making a beautifu l fi l m for the sa m e a mount of money as what most Hol lywood fi l ms spend on l i pstick. Watson & Webber's express ion istic Lot In Sodom is a visual feast of "god-forsa ken" men wh i l e Jea n Coctea u ' s Blood Of A Poet ma kes style m o re i m porta nt than plot. Cocteau had ho ped that viewers could read his sym bols accord i n g to their desire. We hope the sa me for you throughout this exciting series. - Cathy Lee Crane & Jim Hubbard, Curators
Co-presented by San Francisco Cinematheque
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