Beauty, Sex & Shame
The “Beauty, Sex & Shame” program examines the interplay of aesthetics, sexuality, and self-perception as expressed through fashion, art, and visual narrative.
This year, the festival will take place at the iconic Cinema Village in New York City.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
Nettuno: Birth of a Shell
Director: Emma Scarafiotti
Synopsis: “Neptune: Birth of a Shell” narrates the encounter between the artist and the protagonist: a youth of androgynous beauty, undefined and free from social and gender constraints. Throughout the duration of the video, Neptune moves within ritualistic gestures of great expressive intensity in an undefined space-time. Inspired by the writings of Paul Valery and Josè Munoz, the artist uses this object as a metaphor for Neptune’s body. The shell, derived from mollusks, is the perfect casing for these creatures in constant transformation and metamorphosis. Thus, the work represents the eternal beauty of reconfiguration.
Cinema Village in New York City.
T A R A N T E L L A
Director: Hannah Camarata
Synopsis: A manic portrayal of a dance long forgotten. The tarantella was reserved for the women of southern Italy who were said to be cursed and poisoned by the spider. Its only antidote was to force them into a frightening menace that exhausted the curse and brought them back to life.
Cinema Village in New York City.
Moksha
Director: Sheel Yerneni
Synopsis: Moksha is a fashion short film that follows a forward-thinking young woman with an innate flair for high fashion that almost drowns in shame (literally) from a haunting conservative upbringing.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
Clown Tits
Director: Ezra Rose
Synopsis: Weaving elements of drag, dreams, and dance, “Clown Tits” threads together queer history with the filmmaker’s personal journey of transitioning, capturing the dreamlike period from the decision to undergo top surgery to the moment of receiving that essential gender-affirming care.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
The Princess and the Peacock
Director: Daniel Baker-Wells
Synopsis: Mona is a 22 year old trans girl from a small village in France. She puts needles attached to peacock feathers in her skin, under bright lights, late at night. She bleeds, half naked, in front of small crowds of people. Sometimes they faint whilst watching her.
Why would she do this? How did she learn to do it? And why would someone want to watch?
The Princess and the Peacock is a rare and intimate glimpse into a scene that hasn’t been shown on film before- ‘freak-show’ performances amongst Berlin’s FLINTA (femme, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, a-gender) community. It is a film about courage, beauty and how to create your life. A film made by and with the FLINTA community, it is filled with ink and skin, and desire and beauty, asking us to look deeper, and confronting us with our own desires and expectations.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
Nocturna
Director: Pablo Olmos Arrayales
Synopsis: Max is on his way back home after a long hard working day. A drunk woman gets into the same subway car where he travels. His wandering attitude awakens another passenger who has no good intentions. Max will witness what happens at night in the city subway.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
Soot Darlings
Director: Olympia Christofinis
Synopsis: A woman attempts to grow wings to escape her deteriorating marriage.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
A Muse Me for Arena Homme Plus
Director: Timur Celikdag
Synopsis: A Muse Me: A short film by Timur Celikdag (after ‘Love is the Devil: Study of a portrait of Francis Bacon (1998) by John Maybury)
We observe through the intense imagination of an artist the transformation of a simple young man into an object of obsession, the making a Muse, and in so doing explore ideas of desire, possession, objectification, manipulation, coercion and control. During this metamorphosis we bare witness to our Muse’s awakening as he grows in confidence and self awareness, shedding his innocence and discovering his own influence and control over the artist…tables turn, power dynamics shift, a symbiosis emerges.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
A Fully Embodied Woman
Director: Anna Kuzmina
Synopsis: “A Fully Embodied Woman” is a short film that follows a female dancer’s journey of self-discovery. Through mesmerizing dance sequences and intimate conversations, we witness her exploring her identity and delving into her deepest thoughts and emotions. Set in her Brooklyn apartment, the film captures the dancer’s raw and authentic moments as she grapples with issues of sexuality, artistry, jealousy, and more. Ultimately, the film is a tribute to the power of femininity and its ability to express the complexities of women’s experience.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
back an hour and how to wear it
Director: Eleonora Manca
Synopsis: Let your beauty scare you. Think about yourself as you “imagine” yourself because metamorphosis means not giving in to a single form. Be everything others are afraid to be.
Friday, November 22 · 9:00pm – 11:00pm | Screening + Artist Q&A
Cinema Village in New York City.
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