Headfirst Editor's Pick
"Free entry! Gay24’s provided an indispensable fountain of overlooked queer cinema and trans narratives on film - we’re gonna miss them! For their final act: the unforgettable life story of trans icon Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. I Am My Own Woman’s a moving and experimental meta-documentary weaving a tale of sexual liberation (and antique furniture) during Nazi Germany, East Germany and ‘Unified’ Germany. "
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A event held at Cloak on Thursday 28th November. The event starts at 20:00.
GAY24 is incredibly excited to be inviting trans programming queen and our sister in deep obsession tgirlsonfilm to co-curate our November screening, a retrospective of Rosa von Praunheim's films on the life of German trans icon Charlotte von Mahlsdorf.
The centerpiece of this program is his 1992 quasi-documentary I Am My Own Woman, in which Charlotte herself takes charge and leads reenactments of her own life story. This delightfully intimate structure leads to Charlotte herself often breaking the fourth wall within these scenes and interacting directly with the actors playing younger versions of her, both giving them adjustments to direction and allowing them to ask her questions about her life to further enrich their performances.
This is a variation on a similar format we see repeating within the wider canon of trans films; from Funeral Parade of Roses in 1969 to Framing Agnes in 2022. Our stories sometimes seem so farfetched, so unbelievable to a wider audience that there is a need to break down the artifice and confirm, "Yes; these are our lives and this is how it happened."
And what a life! Without giving away any juicy details, Charlotte survived the Nazi regime to go on to become a notorious sexual deviant, actress in groundbreaking German queer films, DJ at her local gay bar, and build a world-class museum on her very specific special interest. Truly a trans-fem pioneer.
Following the feature we will also play von Praunheim's rarely screened follow-up Charlotte in Sweden, a beautiful short film that tells the rest of Charlotte's story following the making of I Am My Own Woman.
This will also be GAY24's final Bristol screening for the foreseeable future - @tgirlsonfilm will be there in person to introduce the films with us, and we couldn't think of anyone better to accompany us for our UK swansong. Come help us say goodbye! <3
Entry requirements: no age restrictions
The centerpiece of this program is his 1992 quasi-documentary I Am My Own Woman, in which Charlotte herself takes charge and leads reenactments of her own life story. This delightfully intimate structure leads to Charlotte herself often breaking the fourth wall within these scenes and interacting directly with the actors playing younger versions of her, both giving them adjustments to direction and allowing them to ask her questions about her life to further enrich their performances.
This is a variation on a similar format we see repeating within the wider canon of trans films; from Funeral Parade of Roses in 1969 to Framing Agnes in 2022. Our stories sometimes seem so farfetched, so unbelievable to a wider audience that there is a need to break down the artifice and confirm, "Yes; these are our lives and this is how it happened."
And what a life! Without giving away any juicy details, Charlotte survived the Nazi regime to go on to become a notorious sexual deviant, actress in groundbreaking German queer films, DJ at her local gay bar, and build a world-class museum on her very specific special interest. Truly a trans-fem pioneer.
Following the feature we will also play von Praunheim's rarely screened follow-up Charlotte in Sweden, a beautiful short film that tells the rest of Charlotte's story following the making of I Am My Own Woman.
This will also be GAY24's final Bristol screening for the foreseeable future - @tgirlsonfilm will be there in person to introduce the films with us, and we couldn't think of anyone better to accompany us for our UK swansong. Come help us say goodbye! <3
Entry requirements: no age restrictions