BIRTH OF PLEASURE

LOGLINE: “Birth of Pleasure” is an erotic narrative disco ballet-film which explores the politics of sensuality and contemporary issues around the female body, through a radical retelling of the Psyche and Cupid myth.

“Birth of Pleasure” is an erotic narrative disco ballet-film which explores the politics of sensuality and contemporary issues around the female body, through a radical retelling of the Psyche and Cupid myth.

The film addresses:

a. Eroticism, based on the writings of Audre Lorde, as a means for women to reclaim joy in their jobs, relationships and identities and to combat symbolic and literal ‘pornographic’ ideas of beauty and sensuality.

b. The importance of support for the mental health and outlook of women in our current political and cultural climate through nurturing depictions of the dancers.

c. The politicization of the female body through abstractions and depictions of menstruation and the shame and silence that oftentimes surrounds menstruation.

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

Indie Grits Film Festival 2020 (Columbia, SC)

Roxbury Film Festival 2020 (Boston, MA)

Carrboro Film Festival 2020 (Carrboro, NC)

BLOWUP: International Arthouse FILM FEST 2020 (Chicago, IL)

ArtFields 2020 (Lake City, SC)

Interfest Denver 2019 (Denver, CO)

TEAM

BEHIND THE SCENES

The narrative film is an adaptation of a live show choreographed by Anicka Austin, “Sanctuaries & Fortresses”, which premiered May 17, 2018 at The Bakery Atlanta.

Photographs by Kimara Dixon from the Premiere of “Sanctuaries & Fortresses” by sunday morning at 7.

CROWFUNDING CAMPAIGN

BEHIND THE SCENES

EARLY EXPERIMENTS

Photos by Alan Kimara Dixon

WORKROOM

Photos by Lev Omelchenko and Alex Dzialo

DIRECTOR’S PHONE PICS

Photos by Lev Omelchenko.

ON SET

On Set Photography of “Birth of Pleasure”. Photos by Katy Beltran.

This film is an experiment in presenting choreography in a way that honors the choreography, without trying to replicate all of the nuances that are only possible in a live show. It is a child of the choreography, that supports the live work, while maintaining its independence as a stand alone work of art.

Stills from “Birth of Pleasure”.