From the punk and queer movements of the 1980s, Bruce LaBruce made a name for himself in the cinema circuit underground using the codes of pornography for political and militant purposes. For a month, the Cinémathèque québécoise offers a work that is both subversive and perfectly coherent.
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
He is one of those whose name is better known than the films. Apart from a few more recent (and more “frequentable”) feature films, such as Gerontophilia Where Saint Narcissus (both produced and shot in Quebec), Bruce LaBruce’s productions are known only to moviegoers who have attended film festivals and events nested in the circuits underground. The retrospective dedicated to him by the Cinémathèque québécoise starting September 27 is the largest ever organized in the country. The Toronto filmmaker will also be present during the first three days and will then return during the next month.
“The fact that I am better known abroad is partly due to the fact that the Canadian market being much smaller, it is more difficult to find distribution channels underground”, explains Bruce LaBruce during a telephone interview granted to The Press. “In the United States or Europe, this marginal market is still larger. Also, I stopped making films in Canada for a while. Back when I made my first two feature films [No Skin Off My Ass et Super 8 ½], I had the cops on my back because of the explicit content. I went to Los Angeles, then to Berlin. There are many people who don’t even know that I am Canadian! »
A political motivation
The cinema having always been part of his life, the young Justin Stewart, born in 1964 in Southampton, Ontario, first wanted to be a film critic, which he did in particular in the review CineAction. At York University, when the punk movement was in full swing, he studied film theory and social and political thought.
“I then made several short films in Super 8 and showed them in alternative circuits. My motivation was above all political, because I made queer films very militant, very ‟in your face” with explicit scenes. They were designed to offend not only conservatives, but also supposedly tolerant liberals who said they were open to homosexuals as long as they didn’t show it too much. »
PHOTO PROVIDED BY LUST CINEMA
The Affairs of Lidiathe most recent film by Bruce LaBruce, will be presented at the Cinémathèque québécoise as part of the retrospective dedicated to the filmmaker.
In this regard, Marco de Blois, programmer of this retrospective, points out that one of Bruce LaBruce’s favorite targets in his work is gay neoconservatism and pink capitalism.
His greatest achievement is probably to have succeeded in demonstrating that porn is legitimate and that you can make explicit images say real things.
Marco de Blois, curator of the retrospective of the work of Bruce LaBruce
“We have also programmed commissioned films that he has made for studios specializing in pornography because they fit into the body of work in a very coherent way. To which is added his immense cinephilia. »
When asked which production should serve as a gateway for a viewer who knows nothing of his work, Bruce LaBruce suggests the order defined by the Cinémathèque québécoise, before changing his mind. The retrospective will open with the presentation of Hustler Whitea film shot in Los Angeles in 1996, in which the filmmaker transposes the plot of Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder) in the contemporary world of prostitution and gay pornography.
PHOTO PROVIDED BY THE CINEMATHEQUE QUÉBÉCOISE
Tony Ward is the headliner of Hustler White. This film launches the retrospective devoted to Bruce LaBruce at the Cinémathèque québécoise.
“I like that it starts with Hustler White, even if it is an extreme and very controversial film. During the premiere at the Sundance festival, half of the room is also out. I saw as an honor the fact that it provoked so many reactions. That said, for those who would like to start a little softer, Otto; gold, Up with Dead People is a little more acceptable! »
A punk attitude
Consisting of 13 feature films and several short and medium-length films, the retrospective also comes with carte blanche granted to the filmmaker. Seven feature films that inspired him are thus presented. In collaboration with the Festival du nouveau cinema, Bruce LaBruce will also take part, on October 12, in a discussion on pornography and eroticism from an author’s perspective.
“I always keep a punk attitude towards cinema, assures the filmmaker. It must challenge us, provoke us, explore new territories. I often felt this strange, uncomfortable feeling of having gone too far, yet combined with this visceral need to go towards something that must be expressed. I believe the title of the retrospective – Tender and transgressive – expresses it well. In my eyes, all my films are romantic and some of them even fall into a certain sentimentality. I intend to pay attention to this in the future, because we live in a world where we can no longer afford to be sentimental! »
Bruce LaBruce: Tender and transgressivefrom September 27 to October 26 at the Cinémathèque québécoise