Acting
Stories from the lesbian subculture in West Berlin, about being in love, clichés, desire, and conflict – "shot as a narrative, with real lesbians at real locations about real feelings."
It begins with footage from a stylish old potboiler about an isolated convent, whose tale of passions leashed and unleashed provides the leitmotif for a young lesbian who watches it and the lonely nun she pursues and seduces. As the two women's lives come closer to joining, voiceovers from the biography of a 16th century lesbian nun and the reminiscences of a woman's closeted romances at a Catholic school flesh out the theme.
Tells a stylized tale of a drag queen's battle to decipher his identity as he approaches the complexities and dangers of desire through seduction and costume. Treats the subject of gender identity with a popular sensibility as it captures the otherworldliness of club life, incorporating the music of the rock band Rough Trade.
Su Friedrich's personal essay charting the destruction of Williamsburg, Brooklyn. After living in the neighborhood for 20 years, the filmmaker was one of many who were forced out after the city passed a rezoning plan allowing developers to build luxury condos where there were once thriving industries, working-class families, and artists. Filmed over many years, it is a scathing portrait of one neighborhood's demolition and transformation.
