The Inconsolable One
Short Films and Mid-Lengths
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15m
Directed by Jean-Marie Straub | 15 mins | 2011
Orpheus, returned from the underworld, explains to Bacchante that the gaze he cast upon wife Eurydice, condemning her to Hades, was an act of free will, not fate, in Straub’s agonized declamatory study of bereavement, based on a dialogue by Cesare Pavese. “Audacious and revelatory.”—The New Yorker
Up Next in Short Films and Mid-Lengths
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Amnesia
Directed by Beth B | 1 min | 1992
Originally aired on MTV, Amnesia is a one-minute direct assault on the languages of hate and intolerance. We hear spoken, “They spread disease. They smell bad. They take our jobs.” A timely reminder of the collective hysteria that can recur in the language and in... -
The Dominatrix Sleeps Tonight
Directed by Beth B | 3 mins | 1983
A gang of leather-clad, powerful women take over a traditionally male domain, and hairspray, eyeliner, and bare flesh are on full display in Beth B’s music video for the Arthur Baker–produced club hit from synthpop band Dominatrix. Banned at the time of release,... -
High Heel Nights
Directed by Beth B | 11 mins | 1994
Intimate portraits of gay artists and drag performers talking about gender, identity, and all the fine lines around them. Beth B’s short film is a stirring reminder that drag-queen performances may be accepted in the mainstream today, but there was a time when ...