IN SEARCH OF A PERSONAL TRANS CANON
On December 8th, Queer|Art|Mentorship Film Fellow Frances Arpaia screens a selection short films at The Center (208 W 13th St) spanning seven years of her practice. Frances’ experimental work uses lo-fi toy cameras, textured sound, digital effects, and mix video and film to share an idiosyncratic view of transgender life in New York City. Sometimes shot at pool parties, trans lady picnics, and happy hours, Frances captures moments of leisure among trans people—not as an observer but as an active participant in the experience. The material experimentation depicted in her work often has the same playful and collaborative spirit as the settings Frances finds herself in with her camera.Frances will be joined by Queer|Art Programs & Operations Director Río Sofia and 2020-2021 QAM Fellow Mev Luna for a short discussion following the screening.
Various stills from Frances Arpaia’s films.
Frances Arpaia (she/her) is a queer trans woman who lives in Brooklyn and makes weird films. Her work encompases everything from documenting queer life in Brooklyn and the struggles of community and connection, to longform experimental works including feature length performance pieces and video-art shitposts. Her ongoing projects include a feature length film descibed as an epistolary queer romance as well as an experimental documentary that examines the unconcealed, yet rarely noticed, Sapphic gaze between the Statue of Liberty and the statue of Minerva in Greenwood Cemetery.
A lineup of Frances' films that will be screened are below. The total runtime is about 54 minutes:
A Trans with a Movie Camera (2018): Non-narrative cine-essay that collaboratively explores the potentials for trans-feminine representation in film.
Let's Go to the Trans Ladies Picnic (2015): Short film about the Trans Ladies Picnic community in Brooklyn, NY.
Splish Splash (2018): A transsexual pool party in the Hamptons.
Almost! A Summer of Trans Poetry (2017): Series of poetry music videos chronicling work released during the summer of 2016.
New York Counterpoint (2017): A city symphony.
Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny (2017): Short film about a trans ladies beach day.
Rooms (2018): The spatial realities of mental health.
Spooky NY t4t (2021): Halloween at Body Hack, a trans and nonbinary happy hour.
Form Film (2019): The binary interplay of light and shadow as experienced through the sculpted form.
Queer|Art|Mentorship Works-In-Progress are supported in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.