KUSF 90.3 FM (San Francisco) Movie Magazine International
Wed, November 19, 2008 / 9 pm (PST)
Thurs, November 20, 2008 / 6:00h (CET)
KUSF 90.3 Radio
During the Cineffable Film Festival in Paris I had the pleasure to be interviewed about my work by international scholar and film critic Moira Sullivan for her show Movie Magazine International on KUSF 90.3 FM San Francisco.
The show aired Wednesday Nov. 19 at 9 pm Pacific Standard Time and is available online. Click on link KUSF 90.3 FM (San Francisco) and look for past shows .
Or just click here and listen to the part on RISK, STRETCH, OR DIE :
Tune in! :-)
Oct. 14, 2008 / 21h Brattle Theater, Boston
Oct. 15, 2008 / 22:45h Brattle Theater, Boston
BABYLON:MITTE, BERLIN
Thursday, October 9, 2008 / 21:15h
In October RISK, STRETCH, OR DIE had its first stop home on its worldwide tour.
The film was screened as part of the weekly film series NEW GERMAN CINEMA at Berlin's arthouse cinema Babylon:Mitte.
So far, the film had not been shown publicly in Berlin and the screening at Babylon was still a delicate endeavor especially for the protagonist. Yet, the decision was been taken to now finally go for it and take the risk! Océan and I were present after the screening for all questions and impressions.
Thank you all for sharing this special evening! :-)
© 2007 60 min. Documentary
Yet who is the person behind these roles? And what is truly performance and what reality?
For almost a year filmmaker Saskia Heyden took up the search. In gently captured filmic moments unfolds an exceptionally fascinating personality, who goes beyond traditional gender categories but also very well knows how to play the game within them. Through the developing close cooperation between protagonist and filmmaker the film lets us participate in a very private world. Deeply moving in instants of intimacy, Océan LeRoy yet manages to stay ambiguous: between day and night, woman and man, openness and mystery...
Jakarta + Bali, Indonesia / August 3rd - August 23rd, 2008
This logo gets it right straight away: what a firework of festival!
"Risk, Stretch, or Die"'s first station in Asia was the Q! Film Festival in Indonesia.
And after having been very busy before with new projects my protagonist Océan and I once again had the opportunity to attend the screenings in Jakarta and Bali. This was thanks to the organizational talent of Q! director John Badalu and the Goethe Institute Jakarta. Thank you guys!!!
I enjoyed the festival and the discussions with the warm and welcoming community with your open and honest questions, comments and feedback. I am glad to have had the opportunity to attend the festival and the artist talk in this amazing country which to me seems to be full of fascinating contradictions which are difficult to grasp in short time. Two weeks... Yes two weeks are too short for a country as diverse as Indonesia!
The festival had a selection of intriguing trailers, which were projected before every screening. While the one on the attacks on the diversity parade on Pancasila Day 08 in Jakarta was very agitating, giving the idea of diversity on the one hand a much broader meaning and on the other showing how this diversity is threatened, the other trailers were more uplifting and this one to the right is my favourite...
Apart from the usual festival hustle and bustle and partying and socializing I am happy to also have had some more tranquil moments. :-)
From the catalogue:
Thought-provoking and intelligent, this poetic documentary dissects
gender identity by aiming its lens at an electrifying individual who is
a successful businesswoman by day and a popular drag performer by night.
Set against the avant-garde backdrop of Berlin, Risk, Stretch or Die
is a compelling look into the fascinating life of gender-bending, famed
French drag king Océan LeRoy. Transgender identified, Océan refuses to
abide strictly by a male or female label. During business hours, the
dual-natured dynamo manages a media and technology consulting firm as a
woman, finding it easier to play by the rules of business in this
prescribed role. But when night arrives, the chameleon emerges full
tilt as a suave and dapper male. Hitting the stage as a man and a
woman, the innovative entertainer performs a broad range of
passion-charged numbers, from George Michael’s “Faith” to hardcore punk
rock loaded with political statements, often pushing the audience
outside their comfort zone. This documentary is not merely about a drag
king; it delves deeply into a different and more fluid perspective that
shatters conventional notions of gender. Told in a lyrical tone with a
keen visual eye, director Saskia Heyden unveils the core of this
fascinating figure and beautifully captures an androgynous person who
outwardly defies masculine and feminine constraints. (German, English
and French with English subtitles) -- Kelly Burkhardt