Four Films by Stephen Dwoskin

About

This program is presented as part of Bodies of Work: Festival of Disability Arts and Culture.

Stephen Dwoskin was a prominent avant-garde artist in New York in the 1960s, as well as in London, where he would later reside. He made films that scrutinize the body and its discontents, rooted partly in his long struggle with polio. Emotionally intense, often with little or no dialogue, his films chart the narrow borders between pleasure and pain. The MCA Stage presents four films that reflect the breadth of his career, including the last film before his death in July 2012.

• Pain Is… {bio: (1997, 80 min)

A series of people living with constant pain, whether from illness, injury, or sadomasochism.

• Age Is… (2012)}

A subjective meditation on the experience and cultural concepts of aging.

• Ballet Black (1986, 86 min)

A documentary about Les Ballets Nègres, Europe’s first black ballet company.

• Behindert (1974, 96 min)

An autobiographical drama starring Dwoskin, about a love affair complicated by his disability.