Showroom x Site Gallery: Born in Flames + Talk 15

From the archive

This film was last shown on 26 November 2019

Recently restored by Anthology Film Archives in New York, Lizzie Borden’s 1983 social drama explores how direct action can confront sexism, racism and class discrimination.

Set in New York, ten years after the peaceful ‘Social Democratic War of Liberation’, the film follows two groups of women as they respond to the death in police custody of political activist Adelaide; her death is officially labelled a suicide, but others in the movement believe there has been a cover-up.

Constructed using faux talk shows, news reports, documentary footage and surveillance tapes – and directed, produced and edited by Borden herself – Born in Flames is an urgent, futuristic vision of a post-revolutionary United States.

Presented in partnership with Site Gallery, this screening will feature an extended introduction from So Mayer and Anna Kime exploring the themes of the film in relation to Site's Rewriting The Future exhibition.

So Mayer

So Mayer is the author of Political Animals: The New Feminist Cinema and The Cinema of Sally Potter: A Politics of Love, along with several collections of poetry, most recently jacked a kaddish. They are a part of queer feminist film collective Club des Femmes, and a co-founder of Raising Films, a campaign and community for parents and carers in film.

Anna Kime

Anna currently represents Birds’ Eye View’s Reclaim the Frame for Sheffield and recently produced Sea Change, a development lab for women in the film industry on the Isle of Tiree. Before freelancing Anna managed Lottery funding for the film exhibition sector.

Born in Flames preserved by Anthology Film Archives with restoration funding from the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Film Foundation. Distributed by Cinenova.