Orlando, Ma Biographie Politique (2023) amplifies the voice of an international group of 26 trans and non-binary individuals, aged 8 to 70, to bring out Orlando of Virginia Woolf's 1928 novel “Orlando: A Biography.” Sharing personal stories, reciting passages from the novel, and reflecting on the nature of contemporary trans life the performers explore notions of identity, gender and sexuality situating them within their intertwining social, legal, or medical ideoscapes. In a wonderful celebration of queerness Paul B. Preciado transmutes Woolf’s love of language into an equally joyous appreciation of cinematic form, trading his own story and the novel’s sole protagonist for a multitudinous and collective experience.
Paul B. Preciado is a philosopher, writer, and influential figure in the realm of gender and sexuality studies. Their work is distinguished by its unapologetic exploration of identity, challenging established norms and inspiring critical dialogue. Their contributions, as seen in "Orlando, My Political Biography." extend beyond the written word and into their own lived experience. The film itself premiered this year at Berlinale where it won the Teddy Award for Best Queer Film of 2023.
Orlando, Ma Biographie Politique is the fourth part of the OS MUTANTES series, curated for WORM. With the series, my aim is to reimagine the conventional "coming of age" narrative, by recognizing that growing up is a far more transformative process than the typical cinema portraits, often confined to closed narratives and character arcs driven by personal achievement, or self-improvement.
ORLANDO, MA BIOGRAPHIE POLITIQUE by Paul B. Preciado, 2023, France, 98 min,
French with English subtitles
OS MUTANTES IV // ORLANDO, MA BIOGRAPHIE POLITIQUE
29 November 2023
start program: 20:30h
pre sale tickets: WORM
Boomgaardsstraat 71, Rotterdam