On November 14, Pittsburgh Filmmakers is screening a program titled “Imaging the Flesh: Queer & Feminist Pioneers in Handcrafted Film” at Melwood Screening Room. Following the films, there will be a roundtable discussion with Emily Davis: former Senior Research Associate for the Time-Based Media Project at the Carnegie Museum of Art; Melissa Ragona: Associate Professor of Art History & Theory, School of Art, Carnegie Mellon University; and Michael Johnsen, musician and filmmaker.
The screening portion includes films by Roger Jacoby, Peggy Ahwesh, and Stephanie Beroes. Between the ’70s-’90s, the convergence of punks, poets, artists, and unemployed steelworkers at Pittsburgh Filmmakers resulted in hundreds of 16mm films that were strange, gritty, and 100% independent from Hollywood. This program accents the wild styles coming out of Filmmakers, with a special focus on women, queer people, and artists with working-class perspectives.