The protagonists in these three films are constantly in motion – advancing and retreating, bodies moving in rhythm, or breaking free from it. Movements link the three films, which explore how ideas of nationhood and the history of the queer movement shape our sense of belonging. The programme opens with a dance. In her experimental work, filmmaker Agustina Comedi, in collaboration with artist duo Chiachio & Giannone, uses a folk dance performed in the desert to explore the concept of nationality. It is a static moment, a painting that is brought to life. We Were No Desert challenges a national-colonial myth: the place is not empty, nor is it defined solely by heteronormative narratives. Movements extend beyond the traditional steps. The second film turns to the past, inviting viewers to make connections to present-day issues of political control over bodies. It links the private space, the lesbian bodies, but also the same bodies on the streets in the ACT UP protests, to legislative texts. What can we learn from this? How did these activists take a stance – physically and politically – and how were these positions documented on film? The programme concludes in the present, as the three directors of The Unreasonables ask: How can the activist movement of the 1990s HIV/AIDS crisis in Frankfurt be archived in film? Stepping into the frame themselves, they invite an open dialogue.

Content Notes