MEMORIES OF MY BODY (OmeU)

No More “I Love You’s”

This year, we grew into our 14th edition with 16 feature films and 8 short film programs. We’re proud to expand, not for the sake of expansion but to reflect the varieties of queer stories, communities and characters that are out there. The classic love story is entirely absent in this program, but love is not.

XPOSED has always been about more than the representation of LGBTQI on screen. We love a queer cinema that allows for wildness, for failure, for withdrawal. A queer cinema that refuses the logics of assimilation. Our characters are outcasts, living on the fringes of society. Our directors question the state of the world through the art of montage. Hetero/cis-normativity is observed in everyday life and queered in the archive. Norms take their toll on all of us. Family is central to this, and here, our films open up complexities. Children struggle, but so do their parents, caught in precarious and repressive circumstances. And then, when the subconscious collides with fantasy, new worlds emerge.

With a strong visual language, experimental filmmaking unfolds the loss, love and craziness of our times. Barbara Hammer (1939-2019), whose life and work we celebrate in our program, had mastered this skill beautifully. We love her, and all the other filmmakers that unveil their hearts and minds.

Zum Film:
Wahyu Juno grows up in a small village in Java. After the sudden departure of his father, he struggles with belonging and authority. Juno begins to practice Lengger, where male dancers can dress in and assume female forms. He is attracted by its sensuality, but also shocked when he experiences how seduction can lead to violence.

When he leaves the village, he begins to discover his own sexual identity while becoming friends with a young boxer and an old dance teacher. A restless journey begins. The trauma of his youth is evoked again and again; his body remembers. Eventually, Juno has to deal not only with his own desires, but also influential gurus and powerful politicians. Bodies turn into battlefields, representative of conflicts in Indonesian society. MEMORIES OF MY BODY celebrated its world premiere in Venice in 2018. Its mystic story surely takes time to unfold, but opens up an atmosphere that stays with the audience for a long time.

Regie:
Garin Nugroho 2019 Indonesia

Tickets:
9,00 € | erm. 8,00 €

Weitere Informationen unter:
www.xposedfilmfestival.com