“The queer as hell psychedelic anime you need to see.” – Dazed
Heads turn when dapper, pink-haired tomboy Utena Tenjou rolls onto the rose-strewn campus of Ohtori Academy in ADOLESCENCE OF UTENA. Thrust into the high stakes drama of the school’s fencing league, Utena finds herself slicing and dicing her way through the ranks of the school’s ruling class of duelists, all of them eager to claim the hand of “The Rose Bride,” a princess with the power to revolutionize the world.
Frustrated by the lack of creative control while working on Sailor Moon, director Kunihiko Ikuhara created Revolutionary Girl Utena as an overtly queer story that twists the magical girl concept into a sexy, psychedelic gender-bender with sword fights and race cars. The film’s open challenge to traditional gender and romance connected with audiences all over the world, a powerful story of resistance, romance and rebellion. In Japanese with English Subtitles (1999, Not Rated, 1hr27min)
THE PROGRAM ALSO INCLUDES:
Live preshow performance by Norfolk electronic artist and revolutionary girl KARACELL.
Short Film: GRACE Directed by Natalie Jasmine Harris. Sixteen-year-old Grace prepares for her baptism in the 1950's South. When she learns she must repent before the ritual, Grace contemplates her budding romantic feelings toward her best friend, Louise. (2024, 13min)
Presented by FILM BREAK SOCIETY, a nonprofit organization dedicated to big screen presentations of classic films and under-the-radar contemporaries.
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