Passion

Presented as part of Birds Eye View’s QUEERIOUS programme.

A film about longing, healing and belonging. Adopting rituals and play from queer BDSM practice and their own Christian heritage, artist and filmmaker Maja Borg (Future My Love, 2012) seeks to reclaim intimacy in the wake of a destructive relationship. In Borg’s quest to re-establish boundaries in sex and love, Passion pushes the boundaries of documentary form, creating a textured, theatrical and intensely personal exploration of ritualistic practices, shot in both 16mm and digital, as a means of “reclaiming of myself.” Through stories of LGBTQI+ kink communities from across Berlin, Stockholm and Barcelona, Passion portrays the humanity at the heart of the practice.

+ short film ISHTAR by Mia Georgis (UK 2021, 4’) Ishtar, the gender fluid Mesopotamian deity of love, sexuality, and justice, hosts a sumptuous and ritualistic dinner at which five gender non-conforming siblings of colour feast together in an English country garden. Exploring the coloniality of gender, Ishtar’s guests hold the history of their ancestors and their present day selves.

Birds Eye View’s QUEERIOUS programme will explore a multitude of desires on screen in ways we all too rarely see in cinema. Through stories of sexual (re)awakenings and queer love through a feminist lens, the season aims to help us to question, learn and enjoy our sexual selves.

Queerious will tour across the UK.