Tilda Swinton wrote “Letter to an Angel“ to her
friend and collaborator Derek Jarman on 17th August 2002, eight years
after his death. Isaac Julien’s moving biopic has Swinton re-reading the letter in light of a cinematic retrospective of Jarman’s life and work in London. At its centre is an interview the film’s producer Colin MacCabe conducted with Jarman in 1990, during which the Aids-afflicted director looks back at his life. Charting Jarman’s early days as an art student squatting in south London, through to the homoerotic, experimental
films of “Sebastiane“, “Caravaggio“ and The Pet Shop Boys’ pop promos - Jarman’s life
and films struck hard at the core of Thatcher’s conservative Britain. He was punk before Mc- Claren entered the stage and out as an HIV+ gay man before many others dared to be. Julien and Swinton lay testament to his artistic vision and spirit.
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Herzstück der Rückschau auf Leben und Werk des Independentfilmers Derek Jarman (1942- 1994) ist ein Interview, das dieser 1990 wenige Jahre vor seinem Tod Derek-Produzent Colin MacCabe gab. Regisseur Isaac Julien arbeitet Filmausschnitte ein und dokumentiert über Jarmans Filmografie hinaus 3 Jahrzehnte kultureller und gesellschaftlicher Entwicklung in London. Tilda Swinton, beruflich und freundschaftlich eng mit Jarman verbunden, sagt in der Zeitschrift Time Out über dessen Einfluss auf ihre Karriere: „I’m pretty sure that had I not met Derek, I might well not have worked as a performer in film in England at all.“

Look out for our SPOTLIGHT ON ISAAC JULIEN programme on Tue 15/04 at 22:00

Di / Tue 15.4. • 20:30 • Berlin • Hackesche Höfe FT
So / Sun 13.4. • 20:15 • Berlin • fsk-Kino am Oranienplatz