Rentals
Female Desire on Screen
Flipping the switch on a century of cinema's male gaze with a collection exploring women's sexual expression in film.
In conjunction with the release of anthology She Found It at the Movies: Women Writers on Sex, Desire and Cinema (edited by Christina Newland), we present a season of films exploring the under-discussed desires of female audiences and their onscreen counterparts.
This online season aims to encourage discussion about female viewers' relationship with moviegoing and the ideas that cinema gave us about what sex should be. From queer coming-of-age stories to documentaries about male strippers, Female Desire attempts to flip the switch on a century of cinema's male gaze, and find space for women's sexual expression in film.
Below Christina Newland contextualises a selection of films through the prism of female desire; the collection will be supported by a series of q&s and discussions on BFI online platforms from 24 April 2020.
BoundBound
Gangster1996109 minsDirector: Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski
A seductive neo-noir and cult classic centring on lesbian desire in dangerous circumstances.
Sexy, boldly feminist and utterly disinterested in pandering to male audiences, this crime-thriller centring on lesbian lust is as violent as it is seductive.
Dirty DancingDirty Dancing
Drama1987101 minsDirector: Emile Ardolino
A retro, music-filled classic about teen romances and strict attitudes to sex starring the late Patrick Swayze in his breakthrough role as dance instructor Johnny Castle.
As ‘feel-good’ as they come, a drama that offers a counter-narrative to traditional ideas about women and sex. Jennifer Grey’s Baby is a plucky, desirous feminist hero who offers everywoman identification for the audience.
The Diary of a Teenage GirlThe Diary of a Teenage Girl
Drama2015102 minsDirector: Marielle Heller
The US indie hit tells the bold, bawdy and hilarious story of a teenager's sexual awakening after she sleeps with her mother’s boyfriend.
Marielle Heller’s frank, unapologetic debut feature is about a teenage girl in 70s California. It’s a hilariously crude and poignant coming-of-age story, touching on the stumbles we make on our way to sexual maturity.
In the CutIn the Cut
Thriller2003119 minsDirector: Jane Campion
This feminist erotic thriller starring Meg Ryan and Mark Ruffalo adds a frisson of dangerous sex to a murder investigation.
Reversing the traditional tropes of the neo-noir, Jane Campion’s erotic thriller offers a frisson of dangerous sex to proceedings, with an homme fatale instead of a conniving dame.
Set It OffSet It Off
Crime1996124 minsDirector: F. Gary Gray
A tight-knit group of friends decide to rob banks in this unapologetically subversive display of black female agency.
Set it Off puts feminist awakening and female friendship at the forefront. But within its heist-movie parameters, it becomes a surprisingly moving treatise on the nature of self-love and sexual confidence, centring female pleasure and selfhood above the attractions of any man.
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