In the framework of the exhibition La Fin de la Nuit exploring Kenneth Anger’s visual influence on the work of Los Angeles artists, the film program « Wild is the Night » reflect the filmmaker’s interest for issues related to gender, sexuality and gay iconography. 

The program features two films by young Los-Angeles filmmakers, Mariah Garnett (born 1980) and Wu Tsang (born 1982) and will be followed by a discussion with Wu Tsang.

Wu Tsang, Wildness, 2012, USA, HDCAM, 75 min

Wildness is a portrait of the Silver Platter, a historic, LGBT-friendly bar on the eastside of Los Angeles that Wu Tsang has frequently visited and filmed. The documentary captures the creativity and conflict that ensue when a group of young, queer artists of colour (Wu Tsang, DJs NGUZUNGUZU and Total Freedom) organise a weekly performance party, also called Wildness, at the bar.

Mariah Garnett, Encounters I May Or May Not Have Had With Peter Berlin, 2012, USA, 14 min

Encounters I May Or May Not Have Had With Peter Berlin depicts Mariah Garnett’s meeting with 1970s German gay porn-star, Peter Berlin. Filmed in 16 mm at the actor’s house in San Francisco, the short feature never lets us see a glimpse of the actor’s face other than through the narcissistic display of self-portraits covering his walls, or the performative reincarnation operated by the filmmaker.

 

Organized by Martha Kirszenbaum