Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £6.99 a month
Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power
You may never look at film the same way again after watching this illuminating journey, which deconstructs the male gaze in cinema.
Director: Nina Menkes
Overview
‘The first step of freedom is consciousness.’ So says director Nina Menkes, introducing her compelling new documentary about the systemic use of gendered techniques in filmmaking and how these subconsciously impact the representation of women in society.
Building upon her influential talk ‘Sex and Power: The Visual Language of Cinema’ and making use of feminist film theorist Laura Mulvey’s landmark thesis, ‘Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema’, Menkes digs deep, drawing on excerpts from over 175 films to prove her point. Featuring interviews with filmmakers, including Julie Dash and Joey Soloway, as well as actors and film professionals, this is a clear, brilliantly argued and urgent plunge into cinema’s history that is guaranteed to spark countless conversations. “Brainwashed is a documentary for any woman in film who ever wanted, just even for a moment, to throw a grenade at the canon” Fionnuala Halligan, Screen International.
strong nudity, sex, sexual violenceRelated
2073 2073
Documentary 2024 83 mins Director: Asif Kapadia
Oscar-winning director Asif Kapadia's unsettling drama-documentary delivers a powerful commentary on the state of the world today… and tomorrow.
The Echo The Echo
Documentary 2023 102 mins Director: Tatiana Huezo
Tatiana Huezo’s poetic documentary captures a holistic view of the rhythms of life in a remote Mexican village.
Architecton Architecton
Documentary 2024 98 mins Director: Viktor Kossakovsky
Victor Kossakovsky’s film essay looks at the way we have constructed our built world through a series of breathtaking sequences.
Hotel Monterey Hotel Monterey
Documentary 1973 63 mins Silent Director: Chantal Akerman
A hypnotic tour of a New York hotel that proves that nighttime is Akerman time.
Là-bas Là-bas
Documentary 2006 79 mins Director: Chantal Akerman
Akerman’s introspective apartment-bound reflection on isolation and confinement.
Avec Sonia Wieder-Atherton Avec Sonia Wieder-Atherton
Documentary 2003 52 mins Director: Chantal Akerman
A celebration of Akerman’s longtime collaborator, cellist Sonia Wieder-Atherton, showing her artistry as she plays and discusses her life in music.
Holiday Holiday
Thriller 2018 88 mins Director: Isabella Eklöf
A lavish trip to the Turkish Riviera goes horribly awry in this disturbing tale of power, exploitation and complicity from the writer of Border.
The Lover The Lover
Drama 1992 115 mins Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud
Jean-Jacques Annaud's powerful, intimate, and sensual adaptation of the best-selling novel by Marguerite Duras.
The Quiet Girl The Quiet Girl
Drama 2021 91 mins Director: Colm Bairéad
A neglected girl lives a joyful summer in Colm Bairéad's Academy Award-nominated debut that combines outstanding beauty and heart-wrenching performances.
EO EO
Drama 2022 86 mins Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
The joint winner of the Cannes Jury Prize, EO is a strangely wonderful tale where the dark and light of humanity is laid bare.
Cairo Conspiracy Cairo Conspiracy
Drama 2022 126 mins Director: Tarik Saleh
A fisherman’s son is offered a place at a prestigious Islamic school in Cairo and finds himself drawn into a religious and political power struggle.
The Eight Mountains The Eight Mountains
Drama 2022 147 mins Director: Felix Van Groeningen and Charlotte Vandermeersch
An epic journey of friendship and self-discovery set against a magnificent and breath-taking Italian landscape, winner of the 2022 Cannes Jury Prize.
Crash Crash
Drama 1996 100 mins Director: David Cronenberg
Technology and sexuality meet in head-on collision in David Cronenberg’s controversial adaptation of writer J.G. Ballard’s transgressive 1973 novel.
The Reckless Moment The Reckless Moment
Film noir 1949 82 mins Director: Max Ophuls
Joan Bennett and James Mason become entangled in a web of secrets and unexpected attraction Max Ophüls masterful domestic noir.
Fat City Fat City
Drama 1972 97 mins Director: John Huston
A washed-up boxer (Stacy Keach), and young hopeful (Jeff Bridges), navigate dreams and despair in John Huston’s gritty boxing drama.
Highway Patrolman Highway Patrolman
Drama 1991 105 mins Director: Alex Cox
Alex Cox’s Mexican film follows the journey of a highway patrolman whose idealism eventually gives way to inevitable corruption.
To Sleep with Anger To Sleep with Anger
Comedy 1990 102 mins Director: Charles Burnett
Charles Burnett's brilliant drama about an African American family reeling from a a surprise visit from an old friend, played by Danny Glover.
The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
Period drama 1988 91 mins Director: Vincent Ward
A group of medieval English villagers find themselves transported to '80s New Zealand, in Vincent Ward's fusion of fantasy and time-travel.
Society Society
Horror 1989 99 mins Director: Brian Yuzna
A teenager uncovers an elite ritualistic society in Brian Yuzna's stomach-churning mix of body-horror and social commentary.