Meshes of the Afternoon | Portrait of Jason

One of the most influential American experimental films ever made, the haunting short Meshes of the Afternoon follows a woman (played by Deren) as she moves through her house in a trancelike state, navigating a flood of images stirred from her subconscious. The film “conjures the strangeness of how dream logic enters and distorts mundane domestic scenes,” kosoko says. (14 mins., digital video)

Portrait of Jason is Shirley Clarke’s poignant and often hilarious record of one night with former hustler, house boy, and aspiring cabaret performer Jason Holliday as he dons costumes, sings, and spins tales about his past. This single-camera film “shot in a living room over the course of a single night,” kosoko says, captures “the Black, queer subject…in cycles of comedic relief and self-revelation.” (105 mins., 35mm)

See the complete Say Gay lineup.

Say Gay: LGBTQ+ Pride on Film is presented in conjunction with Portal For(e) the Ephemeral Passage, an interdisciplinary exhibition that amplifies Black feminist voices in contemporary art and performance. Click here to view the complete Portal For(e) lineup.

Read more

• Feature: “Shirley Clarke’s Indefinite Truths,” Gagosian Quarterly