Born in Flames

Born in Flames

Director: Lizzie Borden
Country: USA

1983 | 81 min. | English
Subtitles: German
FSK 12

Cast_ Honey, Adele Bertei, Jean Satterfield, Flo Kennedy Screenplay_ Lizzie Borden, Ed Bowes Camera_ Ed Bowes, Al Santana Producer_ Lizzie Borden Rights_ Arsenal Filminstitut e.V.

This incendiary feminist sci-fi raises urgent social questions that remain relevant today. One of the key works in our retrospective.

Ten years have passed since the revolution. It was supposed to transform the United States into a socialist utopia. In reality, however, sexism, racism, and other forms of injustice persist. A group led by Black queer women won’t stand for this any longer. When one of their leaders dies in mysterious circumstances, the struggle escalates.

Shot on the - back in the day - run-down streets of New York in the style of a guerrilla production and edited in a frenetic style that combines agitprop imagery with news footage, ›Born in Flames‹ is a mighty, furious document of its time and a unique work of utopian science fiction.

Director

Lizzie Borden is a filmmaker from Detroit who moved to New York after completing her studies, where she worked as an artist and critic. Her acclaimed works include the realistic drama ›Working Girls‹ (1986), told from the perspective of a sex worker. Her films generally explore the complexities of female sexuality.

Screenings