FXF_S05EP03: THE RISE OF NEW QUEER CINEMA: JOHN CAMERON MITCHELL, BRIAN KATES, JOHN BAIR, BEN CHEAH

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John Cameron Mitchell’s longtime collaborators, picture editor, Brian Kates, sound editor, Ben Cheah and his Animator and Visual Effects Supervisor John Bair, joined Mitchell in conversation about the the origins and the evolution of their work together. John Cameron Mitchell, Ben Cheah and John Bair joined us via Voice-over IP.

When John Cameron Mitchell landed in the downtown art, theater and music scene in New York City in the 1980's any imaginary border that separated an independent filmmakers sensibility from making punk rock music was arbitrary in that his first major creative work, the eventual Broadway hit musical Hedwig and The Angry Inch was born from a DIY collaboration between himself, lyricist and composer, Stephen Trask and other musicians and actors that , true to the NewYork fighting spirit had created beauty and art out of a sense of anger and alienation of era. Later, the filmic adaptation of Hedwig was recognized as part of the wave of late 90’s queer independent American cinema alongside the work of filmmakers like Gus Van Sant Ira Sachs and Todd Haynes. . Each of his Three subsequent films, Shortbus, Rabbithole and How To Talk To Girls at Parties also invited us to fearlessly travel into uncharted territories. His most recent project, Anthem: Homunculus, a musical podcast series for the digital age tells a story about a man crowdfunding his survival. What’s consistent throughout every project is that it cultivates a cross-pollination of artists representing different groups all the while emphasizing compatibility and compassion between performers, their worlds and the audiences themselves.