BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes, and Sadomasochism. 1995. USA. Directed by Michelle Handelman. DCP. 70 min.
It’s easy to forget that Michelle Handelman, the polymathic visual artist based in Brooklyn, was at one time one of the preeminent chroniclers of 1990s Bay Area punk and queer culture. BloodSisters, an affectionate look at the small but boisterous community of lesbian-aligned S&M practitioners in the Bay, is the magnum opus of that generation. Deftly navigating the interpersonal politics that riddle any marginalized community, Handelman successfully interweaves tremendously disparate stories of queer leatherfolk together into a communal mural of support, activism, and erotica. Among the many highlights are extended interviews with the monumental essayist and eroticist Patrick Califia, trans tattoo artist and activist Tala Brandeis, and Skeeter, activist and longtime leathermaker for the venerable Mr. S. Leather. With a rollicking ’90s queercore soundtrack, front-line activism footage, and plenty of sultry detours, Handelman demonstrates the power of a marginalized community to affect change in a defiant nation.
Safer Sexual Techniques in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 1988. USA. Directed by Michelle Handelman. 16mm. 12 min.
Preceding BloodSisters is Handelman’s early 16mm structural work Safer Sexual Techniques in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. For many who are familiar with her more recent installation work, this represents the missing link between Handelman’s cinematic roots and her more avant-garde affinities. The film presents four distinct gestures of self-pleasure during the height of the AIDS crisis, and posits that all sexuality comes with inherent and necessary risk, both physical and psychological.
This program is presented in partnership with MIX NYC.