April 13th, 2016 – 7:00pm to 9:30pm [NB: DATE CHANGE]
PWYC – $5 suggested

Screening of 'Orlando' : 7:15pm

Props is a participatory screening and discussion series investigating “theatrical properties” in queer film and video. Theatrical properties (props) are an essential part of storytelling on screen. Good props are hidden in plain sight, supporting action, conveying narrative and symbolic meaning for the characters who wield them: a pack of smokes, a can of coke, a baseball bat, a cell phone, a gun. While bad props destroy the illusion of cinematic realism (think Bradley Cooper’s fake baby in American Sniper) sometimes a prop is so bad it is good; used by the filmmaker to produce a powerful irruption of the Real for the viewer (Divine in Pink Flamingos eating dog shit). Props asks the question, how do we look at a film differently if we investigate it through the objects portrayed on screen?

For the inaugural screening and discussion, we will be showing Sally Potter’s ORLANDO, starring Tilda Swinton.

Chosen for its lavish art direction and queer themes, “Orlando is a bold, unsentimental re-working of Virgina Woolf’s classic novel in which an innocent aristocrat journeys through 400 years of English history - first as a man, then as a woman. Orlando is a story of the quest for love, and it is also an ironic dance through English history. Addressing contemporary concerns about gender and identity, the film is remarkably true to the spirit of Virgina Woolf, but it also skilfully adapts the original story to give it a striking, cinematic form.”

This event will include a screening and discussion of the film. Participants will be invited to create a list of props seen on screen and engage in a guided discussion of the film using this collectively sourced inventory as a starting point.

Who’s invited?
Everybody+++
Artists. Film buffs. Set designers. Collectors. Queers. Theorists. Aesthetes. Basically anyone interested in understanding both the style and substance of things.

Schedule
7:00pm – Doors
7:15pm – ORLANDO
8:45pm – Discussion