23.10.25, 20:30, BloodSisters (1995)

Queer history in all its chaotic, complex and campy glory. Or, as it has been described, “the hottest history lesson you'll have all year”.

BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes and Sadomasochism is a video collage of kink and BDSM, a time capsule of the Leather Dyke scene in nineties San Francisco, an immersion in a world of butches, femmes, non-conformists and everything in between.

Interviews with trans pioneers Patrick Califia (essayist and erotica author) and Tala Brandeis (tattoo artist and activist), among others, are complemented by explicit show-don't-tell fragments of extensive BDSM scenes, and in terms of content, we step outside the bedroom with images of live demonstrations, competitions such as the Ms. Leather Prize and political actions such as the March on Washington. Captured in DIY video style with an unfiltered rawness that reflects and underscores the activism of the time with the riot grrrl sounds of bands such as Typhoon. The approach is clear: BDSM, queerness and political activism are inextricably linked.

With BloodSisters, director Michelle Handelman captures this small but vocal community of queer outsiders in their zeitgeist moment (including an abundance of mullets) and weaves their diverse stories into a communal fresco of support, activism and eroticism.

This screening will be preceded by short films by Michelle Handelman.