Movie night : Orlando, my political biography

Particular

As the semester draws to a close, we invite you to discover "Orlando, my political biography" by Paul B. Preciado. Meet us at Sat, the bar will be open and popcorn will be free!

The screening will be followed by an open discussion on the film, its themes and the audience's feelings about it.

In 1928, Virginia Woolf wrote Orlando, the first novel in which the main character changes sex in the middle of the story. A century later, the writer and trans activist Paul B. Preciado decides to send a filmed letter to Virginia Woolf: her Orlando has come out of her fiction and is living a life she could never have imagined... A radical, punk and poetic political manifesto that dialogues with this prophetic work. Backed by a flamboyant cast of trans actors and actresses, Preciado sets off with his camera to meet the Orlandos of the 21st century.

For those who wish, we will be showing a short report by the director before the screening at 6.40pm to put the film in context.

FR version, EN subtitles
Duration 1h38 + intermission

Informations

Artist

Paul B. Preciado

In 1928, Virginia Woolf published Orlando, a visionary tale following the life of an androgynous, defiantly anti-patriarcal character who mysteriously changes gender. In his first film, philosopher Paul B. Preciado (Testo Junkie, Un appartement sur Uranus), decides to write the author a letter, establishing a fruitful dialogue with this legendary work of literature. Orlando, ma biographie politique draws on the premonitory power of Virginia Woolf’s text whilst proposing a modern interpretation of her story: who are the Orlandos of the 21st century? A parade of Orlandos ensues, embodied by a flamboyant cast of young trans actors - alongside Pierre & Gilles and Virgine Despentes in supporting roles - emancipated in their subversive and joyful state of impermanence. Paul B. Preciado shows us a world in perpetual mutation, and predicts a revolution that will lead to the disappearance of all gendered identities. In this film, of course, he continues his philosophical and militant work, compensating for the invisibilisation of trans people and their struggles, thanks to the power of images and direction. This radical, anti-conformist and resolutely punk film is, quite simply, unforgettable.

– Bastien Bento in visionsdureel.ch