Kenneth Anger, the legendary mystical filmmaker, began his career with a literal bang in the 1947 short Fireworks. The film was a revolutionary portrayal of gay desire that put the filmmaker at the centre of his own painful sexual awakening and marked the beginning of the American gay avant-garde movement. Anger made films about queerness, Satanism, pop culture, and occult mythology. Although he produced over 30 films in his lifetime, many were lost or destroyed, fuelling myth-making opportunities for Anger to embellish his own elaborate biography. In Anger’s films, one must reinvent the self in extravagant ways to reject heteronormative society. However, these reinventions often evoke a darker side. Characters dress as hyper-real, campy personas, transforming into drag versions of Hindu deities (Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome) and fetishized, leather-clad Nazi bikers (Scorpio Rising). His transgressions and political provocations courted controversy and scandal over the years, making his work and legacy a knotty but vital conversation to have. Anger was a master of dreamy imagery and pitch-perfect needle drops, inspiring filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, David Lynch, and Ari Aster. This homage includes five films from Anger’s iconic Magick Lantern Cycle, revealing him as a bearer of both light and darkness.
Program:
- Puce Moment (Kenneth Anger, United States of America, 1949, 6m, SoundThough Anger is well-remembered for exposing the scandals and secrets behind the glitter of Hollywood in his tell-all book Hollywood Babylon, this film of his celebrates all that is shiny and new. Multi-coloured gowns flutter past the camera like curtains opening to welcome viewers to the show. A beautiful woman appears and prepares for another day in Tinseltown accompanied by her Borzois.
- Fireworks (Kenneth Anger, United States of America, 1947, 15m, Sound)Anger’s earliest surviving work explores the homoerotic fantasies and nightmares of a closeted 17-year-old. The Dreamer, played by Anger, seeks sexual satisfaction in unlikely places, only to be engulfed in sadomasochistic encounters with the wrong crowd. This highly original work is the first explicitly gay narrative film in the United States, for which Anger was charged with obscenity.Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding provided by The Film Foundation.
- Eaux d'Artifice / Waterworks (Kenneth Anger, United States of America, 1953, 13m, Sound)A pun on the French word for fireworks (feux d’artifice), Eaux d’Artifice is the antithesis of the sexual frustrations and violent outbursts seen in Fireworks. A mysterious woman dressed in 18th century clothes wanders through the Villa d’Este to the tune of Vivaldi’s “The Four Seasons”. Sensuous waterworks erupt from fountains, freely flowing in a triumphant release of pleasure.
- Scorpio Rising (Kenneth Anger, United States of America, 1963, 29m, Sound)One of the most widely-seen and influential experimental films of all time, Scorpio Rising follows a gang of gay Nazi bikers preparing for a night out. A carefully-curated soundtrack of 1960s pop songs amusingly contrasts the debauchery.Preserved by the UCLA Film & Television Archive with funding provided by The Film Foundation.
- Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome (Kenneth Anger, United States of America, 1954, 38m, Sound)Gods, deities, and mystical beings are cordially invited to a masquerade party. Shiva wakes and embarks on a psychedelic journey as he is joined by other holy figures. Vivid colours bathe the participants in saturated hues as they mingle in orgiastic rituals.
