The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London will be presenting a screening of Gunvor Nelson’s fascinating ‘TAKE OFF’ on the 11th of November at 18:30. ‘TAKE OFF’ is screened under the programme “The Machine That Kills Bad People” together with Mira Nar’s ‘India Cabaret’, both films discussing the world of striptease and those that perform it. Tickets are available at ICA’s website. Curator for the screening is Daniel Turner.
Film programme:
Work distributed by Filmform:
TAKE OFF
Gunvor Nelson
1972, 00:10:00
About the programme:
Two films about stripping and striptease.
Focusing on dancers from a Mumbai cabaret, this early documentary feature from Mira Nair attends to the tensions between the women’s daytime existence and their nighttime activities. India Cabaret is, in Nair’s words, “about the unshakeable inviolability of double standards, of patriarchal values, of the strong conditioning of women never to question or challenge.”
A portrait of stripper Ellion Ness in shimmering black and white, Gunvor Nelson’s Take Off takes off in several senses of the word. After removing her clothes, Nelson’s protagonist undoes her body parts as well before the film ends on an intergalactic note. Nelson’s camera encircles Ness with irony, humour and razor sharp critique.
Programme
India Cabaret, dir. Mira Nair, India 1985, 60 min.
Take Off, dir. Gunvor Nelson, USA 1972, 10 min.
This screening is accompanied by a newly commissioned essay by Devika Girish.