Revisit William Friedkin’s Cruising, a gritty 1980 thriller starring Al Pacino as a rookie cop undercover in NYC's underground gay leather scene to catch a serial killer. With its grimy visuals, pulsating hardcore punk soundtrack and a magnetic performance from Pacino at its centre, Cruising begins as a tense slasher and unfolds into an ambiguous study of sexual identity in doubt. 

The production and release of Cruising garnered protests from the gay community, who accused the film of reinforcing harmful stereotypes of gay men as dangerous and deviant. In its afterlife however, Cruising is being reappraised as a sincere attempt to capture a very real underground scene defined by unbridled male sexuality and, uniquely, doing so just before the HIV/AIDS crisis. Come and see for yourself.

With an introduction by Ellen Smith (Rogue Hollywood Co-curator) and with a pre and post screening Cruising Meet-up from 20:30 onwards in the Café & Bar.

Content warning: material focusing on HIV and AIDS which some may find upsetting.

Tickets £6.50 - £12.00: https://www.watershed.co.uk/whatson/14034/cruising

This event is part Other Ways of Seeing, an initiative supported by BFI awarding funds from National Lottery co-curated by Ellen Smith and Andy Willis (Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and Senior Visiting Curator at HOME) in collaboration with UWE MA Curating student at Watershed George Cruse-Drew.