20171009 awareness talks1

»There is no revolution without the sexual revolution, and there is no sexual revolution without the homosexual revolution«  - Gudrun in Bruce LaBruce’s Raspberry Reich.

Today the word queer appears in TV shows, at universities and as a topic for contemporary discourse and discovery. Only 48 percent of people (in Europe and the US) under the age of 34 define themselves as heterosexual. The word queer has moved from received slur to self-identified mark of pride. In queering our practice we will work to appropriate and subvert definitions, goals and perceived experiences of traditional story telling practices. The history of avant-garde and experimental media is rooted in sexual dissidence and non-conformity. In challenging prevailing sexual norms, we will also seek to undermine the very categories of gender and sex that our culture perpetuates. Our work in this workshop will be thematic personal investigations in relation to documentation and abstraction of identity with an emphasis on low-cost, high impact work that can be self-referential, self-critical and a social commentary.

In this workshop we will explore and implement a Queer sensibility in our art making process. We will go into deep and personal explorations, research Queer zines and create a short film or performance piece based on our discoveries. Come into this workshop ready to cross boundaries and willing to take risks.

Yony Leyser *1984 grew up in Chicago and Tel-Aviv. He studied writing, filmmaking and the dramatic arts. His work deals with race, gender identity, pop-culture and deviant social histories. He finished his first feature-length film William S. Burroughs: A Man Within by the age of 24. Traveling with just a camera and backpack he managed to include personalities like Iggy Pop, Patti Smith, John Waters and Sonic Youth. It was released to huge international acclaim in 2010. Leyser relocated to Berlin in 2010. For his most recent film Queercore, he builds on the foundations and ethos of his first two films with a focus on the rebellious gay punk phenomenon.