The Xcèntric experimental film cycle inaugurates a set of four sessions in parallel to the themes proposed in the CCCB's exhibition "1,000m2 of Desire. Architecture and Sexuality". This series, which begins next Sunday, February 12 and ends on February 23, features a selection of films by authors such as Fred Halsted, Kazuo Hara, Barbara Rubin, Kenneth Anger, Jack Smith, James Herbert and Stan Brakhage.
The films show a world of diverse representations of the sexuality from the experimental cinema, with erotic adventures far from the stereotypes of the pornographic cinema and transgressive visions of the body and the desire. Homosexuality, healing of the wounds of love, exploration of the family, feminism, sex or the relationship between erotic desire and its physical space are some of the key themes of these sessions.
Among the program's highlights are "L.A. Plays Itself", the first feature film by Fred Halsted and one of the few gay, pornographic and cult films, currently part of the MoMA collection in New York. Filmed in 1972, the film traces a particular route through the areas of cruising of the city of Los Angeles.
Along with other films from the early seventies such as Deep Throat or Boys in the Sand, L.A. Plays Itself presents an erotic and formal adventure far removed from the stereotypes that later would be imposed in the pornographic cinema, and of step it makes accessible homosexual pornography to the heterosexual spectators. With an approach close to the proposals of experimental cinema, Halsted places sexual encounters at the same level as suburban landscapes or social reflections.
Xcèntric cinema, part of the cultural offer of the CCCB, began its trajectory in 2002 with the intention of making visible experimental films made by artists that circulate outside the limits of the commercial circuits. The careful scheduling and difficulties in getting a projection copy make each session a unique event. The content is expanded in genres and themes, but all continue to have in common the fact of being works of personal creation and with strong commitment on the part of the authors, both in content and formal solutions.
