Fakir Musafar

Portraits of some of the gay community's most renowned artists and spiritual leaders, with commentary by noted author and photographer Mark Thompson.

A BODY TO LIVE IN offers an uncompromising look at the rise of BDSM performance art, body modification and the ‘modern primitives’ cultural movement through the agonies and ecstasies of transgressive artist Fakir Musafar and the communities that surrounded him. Blending rare archival footage with the voices of queer and artistic trailblazers, the film shows how pain, ritual, and transformation became tools of identity, survival, and self-expression. Weaving from early experiments and secret gatherings to the emergence of a global subculture shaped by the AIDS crisis and spiritual reinvention, Director Angelo Madsen (NORTH BY CURRENT) reveals not just the story of one artist, but a collective history of bodies in revolt - asking what it truly means to live freely in one’s own skin.

Photographer Charles Gatewood offers insight and comments on a variety of his work. His subjects include exhibitionism, transvestites, fetishism, scenes from Mardi Gras, and body modification such as tattoos, body piercing, and extreme weight gain.

Vicky, an out-of-work actress, struggling waitress and lesbian has her whole life thrown into turmoil when her father comes from Germany to visit. The main problem is that Vicky has told him she is a successful actress and happily married. She enlists the help of a gay friend to play her husband. Using a large range of characters—gay, lesbian, straight, transsexuals—the film creates a funny and touching view of family dynamics and sexuality.

A German woman travels to San Francisco to find her mother, but winds up distracted by the sexually flamboyant culture of the city.

"Charles Gatewood is a photographer and anthropologist who specializes in "subcultures." On the evidence of "Dances Sacred and Profane," Mark and Dan Jury's documentary about Mr. Gatewood, he is drawn particularly to Mardi Gras revels, gatherings of nudists and sex clubs. Bare breasts, elaborately tattooed bodies and bizarre behavior are featured in his work, and in the movie. Addressing those who may find his subject matter "revolting and disgusting," Mr. Gatewood asserts that it "tells us something about ourselves." He sees "important statements being made there," about "liberation through excess" and "some kind of actualization of transcendence."