With Ahed’s Knee, the rawest, most autobiographical entry in Nadav Lapid’s blistering filmography (The Kindergarten Teacher; Synonyms), the director crafts a stylized and self-lacerating portrait of an Israeli filmmaker railing at the censorship, hypocrisy, and violence of his government. Last week, we welcomed Lapid for a Film Comment Live Talk exploring Ahed’s Knee and the questions it raises about state censorship of cinema, the politics of self-critique, and the political role and responsibility of the artist. We were also joined by Jamsheed Akrami, scholar of Iranian cinema and director of several documentaries, including A Cinema of Discontent. Listen all the way to the end for Jamsheed’s translation of a recent viral video in which the legendary Iranian filmmaker Dariush Mehrjui excoriates government censorship.

Cinema and the State with Nadav Lapid and Jamsheed Akrami

For this episode along with my guest will be dissecting Derek Jarman’s historical, religious, but ultimately queer debut Sebastiane.  

Released in 1976, is set in a sun drenched rocky coast line of the Mediterranean island of Sardinian. With a dialogue entirely in Latin, Sebastiane tells the story of the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian.

The film is not a biopic by any means but more of a queer BDSM interpretation of this biblical story. The film, was seen as one of the first unlicensed ‘underground’ queer films, which was allowed into the public spaces of commercial cinema and television and one that featured positive images of gay sexuality, in comparison to previously released queer films. But also, interestingly it was also the first ever film passed by the British Board of Film Censors that depicted an erect penis.

To talk to me about the film, I invited along film critic and writer Robert Stinner. It’s a  conversation I very much enjoyed where we able to discuss in depth the films audacious homoeroticism, its timelessness and its influence on future queer filmmaking.

Thank you for listening!

Music: James Jones @james-jones-music

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EPISODE 25: Sebastiane - Interview with writer Robert Stinner

Longtime Companion is a podcast dedicated to conversations and analysis of queer themes in film.

EPISODE 25: Sebastiane - Interview with writer Robert Stinner

Longtime Companion

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