26 Jan

18:30

Eye Filmmuseum

IJpromenade 1, Amsterdam

A book launch for 'Cinemas of Bisexual Transgression' by Jacob Engelberg, followed by a 16mm screening of the groundbreaking queer classic 'She Must Be Seeing Things' (1987).

Cinemas of Bisexual Transgression

More info & tickets

Launch of the book Cinemas of Bisexual Transgression by Jacob Engelberg, followed by a screening of the groundbreaking film She Must Be Seeing Things (1987).

In his book Cinemas of Bisexual Transgression, Jacob Engelberg argues for a radical new perspective on queer film studies. Through characters who transcend the gay/straight categorization, he challenges binary thinking: from 1970s vampire films to 1990s erotic thrillers, from lesbian depictions of female bisexuality to European art cinema's relationship with HIV/AIDS. Using a bisexual form of film theory and analysis, he explores the rich space of sexual unpredictability and the allure of the forbidden.

“The most comprehensive, considered, and thoughtful analysis of bisexuality in visual culture I have ever encountered.” - Maria Pramaggiore, co-editor of Film: A Critical Introduction.

Jacob Engelberg is an assistant professor of Film, Media, and Culture at the University of Amsterdam. He will give a 30-minute introduction before the screening of She Must Be Seeing Things. Afterwards, he will be interviewed by Misha Kavka, professor of Cross-Media Culture at the University of Amsterdam.

She Must Be Seeing Things (Sheila McLaughlin, US 1987, 95')

Lawyer Agatha is looking after her girlfriend Jo's apartment in the heart of 1980s Manhattan while Jo is away shooting her film. While clearing the dusty bookshelves, Agatha discovers Jo's old diaries, full of spicy details about her many (male) love affairs. Agatha descends into a downward spiral of jealousy and sexual obsession. She begins to spy on Jo, imagining her in erotic affairs with male members of her film crew. John Zorn's jazzy, driving music also keeps you on the edge of your seat.

For her rarely screened, groundbreaking classic, Sheila McLaughlin drew from her own life. McLaughlin was part of a small school of independent queer filmmakers from New York, along with Lizzie Borden and Bette Gordon. Her film sparked controversy in lesbian and feminist circles for its provocative depiction of the main characters' fantasies, full of voyeurism, bondage, cross-dressing, heterosexual sex, and fetishism.

Screening on 16mm from the Eye collection. The book, published by Duke University Press, will be for sale after the event.