NARROW ROOMS: LES FANTÔMES DU HARD + FISTULE
Most kinky queers in NYC know all about the Mineshaft, the legendary, long-shuttered NYC sex club in the Meatpacking District that was in operation from 1976 to 1985. But across the Atlantic, France's first "hard" gay BDSM sex club was also called Mineshaft, and it has remained a sacred space for BDSM and fetish sex in Marseille since its opening in 1967. In this pair of short experimental documentaries, director Lazare Lazarus and friends excavate the archive left by the Mineshaft's founder Jean-Pierre Fouque. Chapter 1 tells the story of the squatters who took over Fouque's apartment after his death in 2022 and discovered his archive, while illuminating aspects of the club owner's life – his lovers, political views, activism, and more. Chapter 2, co-directed with Lupa Charon Gateff, is more of a found-footage experimental porno mixtape, using the Mineshaft's archive of hardcore gay porn and BDSM videotapes to take us into the dungeons of Europe, both real and imagined. These two shorts will be followed by Emre Busse's FISTULE, which invites the audience into a realm where an anal fissure serves as a dramatic springboard, exposing the absurdity of societal norms with a mix of tragedy, camp, and sexuality. If you're a fan of the films of Liz Purchell (ASK ANY BUDDY), Ryan A. White (RAW! UNCUT! VIDEO!), and Yann Gonzalez (KNIFE + HEART), you'll find much to enjoy in this month's program. Lazare Lazarus LES FANTÔMES DU HARD, CHAPTER 1 2023, 35 min, DCP. In French with English subtitles. Lazare Lazarus & Lupa Charon Gateff LES FANTÔMES DU HARD, CHAPTER 2 2024, 24 min, DCP. In French with English subtitles. Emre Busse FISTULE 2026, 17 min, DCP