THIS WEEK’S LIMITED ENGAGEMENT FEATURED FILM PREMIERE: "The Microcosm” (Nov 3-9)

Written By Michael Workman

WATCH THE TRAILER (PLEASE NOTE THIS FILM WAS ONLY AVAILABLE FOR THE DATES LISTED ABOVE)

Description
London, 1966. Homosexuality between men is still criminalised. Women don't fare any better. A woman who is exposed as a lesbian can expect to lose her job, her lodgings, her family. It is a tough, dangerous and nerve-wracking existence.

But in one subterranean corner of Chelsea, society's rules don't apply. The Gateways club offers a safe haven for women to dance, express themselves and love who they want. Or does it?

Maureen Duffy published “The Microcosm” in 1966, turning her probing gaze to London's first and infamous lesbian hang out. In this searingly honest work, based on her own experience, Maureen examines if this gay bar, and those like it, really offers the freedom its patrons crave.

Fifty-six years later Maureen's words are brought vividly to life by two-time Oscar winner Glenda Jackson. Glenda, along with director Joe Ingham, draw striking parallels between the past and the present and explore the uncomfortable paradox that exists within queer spaces.

Runtime: 13 minutes 20 seconds
Best Viewed: Cinema Presentation

Director Biography - Joe Ingham
Joe Ingham has developed and produced series for the BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, Sky, A+E, Paramount+ amongst others. His film credits include Invisible Women (2018) and Baby Lies Truthfully (2020), the latter starred Russell Tovey and was selected for festivals including BFI Flare, GAZE and WickedQueer.

Director Statement
"The opportunity to work with a two-time Oscar winner doesn't happen that often so it has been a genuine honour to collaborate with Glenda reviving Maureen's Microcosm for the screen. Maureen has produced one of the most powerful pieces of writing about the queer experience and yet it remains criminally underrated and obscure. I hope a new audience discovers The Microcosm and Maureen's work through this new film.”

Credits & Specifications:

Joe Ingham (Director, Animation)
Maureen Duffy (Writer)
Glenda Jackson (Voice Actor)
Project Type: Animation, Experimental, Short
Completion Date: October 12, 2022
Production Budget: 1,000 GBP
Country of Origin: United Kingdom
Country of Filming: United Kingdom
Language: English

Michael Workman

Michael Workman is a choreographer, language, visual and movement artist, dance and performance artist, writer, reporter, and sociocultural critic. In addition to his work at the Chicago Tribune, Guardian US, Newcity magazine, WBEZ Chicago Public Radio and elsewhere, Workman is also Director of Bridge, an artistic collective and 501 (c) (3) publishing and programming organization (bridge-chicago.org). His choreographic writing has been included in Propositional Attitudes, an "anthology of recent performance scores, directions and instructions" published by Golden Spike Press, and his Perfect Worlds: Artistic Forms & Social Imaginaries Vol. 1, the first in a 3-volume series, was released by StepSister Press in October 2018 with a day-long program of performances at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago. Most recently, two of his scores were accepted for publication in a special edition of the Notre Dame Review focusing on the work of participants in the &NOW Festival of Innovative Writing.

https://michaelworkmanstudio.com
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