A BIGGER SPLASH
(Dir. Jack Hazan, UK, 1973, 106 minutes)
Sunday, December 1 (7:30PM)
Co-presented by QFest and Aurora Picture Show
An unusual, largely improvised hybrid of narrative and nonfiction, Jack Hazan’s 1973 film A Bigger Splash is a completely unique, intimate and innovative portrait of English-born, often California-based visual artist David Hockney and his work. Filmed over three years, it captures the agonized end of the lingering affair between Hockney and his muse, American photographer Peter Schlesinger, as well as featuring designers Celia Birtwell and Ossie Clark, artist Patrick Procktor, gallery owner John Kasmin, and museum curator Henry Geldzahler all delivering knowingly "meta" portrayals of themselves. The result is at once a time capsule of hedonistic gay life in the 1970s, an honest-yet-tender depiction of gay male romance, and an invaluable view of art history in action. Now beautifully restored, this almost forgotten film has received critical praise from a new generation.
QFest and Aurora present this special screening in honor of World AIDS Day, in remembrance of the many lives lost and the many lives that might have been.
"One of the finest films I've seen about an artist and his work." - Martin Scorsese
“An important flashpoint in the history of LGBT cinema. ‘A Bigger Splash’ finds intimacy in the space between life and art.” - Wes Greene, Slant Magazine
“A landmark of queer cinema.” - Leo Allanach, The Advocate
