GLITCH Film Festival Portrait of Jason

The infamous and historically significant documentary portrait of Jason Holliday - cabaret performer, black gay man, sometime sex-worker, party-goer, philosopher and taker of drugs. Still often the only film featuring a black gay man shown in higher education establishments, it is in turn both fascinating and harrowing viewing.

Condemned by some for an exploitative and bullying approach to its subject and defended as a masterpiece of cinema vérité by others, it was restored from an original (once thought lost) in 2013. Shot over a period of twelve hours involving plenty of booze n’ drugs, the tensions between the director, subject and crew-member Carl Lee (Carl being lover to both Shirley and Jason) intensify to the point where Shirley and Carl goad and critique Jason.

Alternately loquacious, witty, profound and sad, Jason tells of his life as black gay man in 1960s America – from orgies to being a houseboy.

Film is fully subtitled for deaf and hard of hearing audience members. Post-screening discussion has BSL.

This film is F-rated. Films are given an F-rating if directed by women, written by women and/or present significant female characters on screen, in their own right. f-rated.org.