Сurators: Filma collective
Text: Ira Tantsiura
Illustration: Ivanna Prokopchuk

Camp as a phenomenon is very hard to define. In cinema it has multiple manifestations and at times successfully integrates into mainstream culture. We decided to examine the other side of camp, which is aptly described¹ by José Esteban Muñoz as a strategic response to the breakdown of representation that occurs when a queer, ethnically marked, or other subject encounters inability to fit within the majoritarian representational regime, and also as a strategy that can do positive identity- and community-affirming work. The name of the program refers to the slogan used by Queer Anarcho-Feminist Block² at Kyiv Pride in 2017. Then, queer activists criticized the idea of an equality that fails to include intersectional analysis and does not subvert the power relations of racism, classism, and normativity. It is impossible to talk about equality when advocacy work meets the demands of only one part of the community. This category is illusive, while poverty, racism, and violence towards marginalized communities continue, along with the exclusion and erasure of non-normative identities. When the basic minimum rights and freedoms are available to only a select few, we feel anger and fatigue at calls not to blur the agenda. In this program we have connected films and ideas that shed light on structural inequalities, and by using irony as a tool introduce political means to battle them.

The film “Homotopia” by Cris. I. Vargas and Eric A. Stanley ironically addresses homonormativity and the attempts of the LGBT movement to present marriage and nuclear family as the only possible way of living. Protagonists are frustrated by an overarching movement towards assimilation that excludes identities beyond the frame of a perfect white middle-class family. While engaging in a subversive fight against pinkwashing and conservative agendas, they demonstrate that kinship is not defined by the state, but rather built on solidarity, support, and joint actions to dismantle systemic inequalities.

The struggle continues in their feature film “Criminal Queers”, when one of the activists is imprisoned. The extensive criminalization of non-white and trans*people by prison industrial complexes in the US is scrutinized here. Together with friends and comrades of the imprisoned Lucy, as well as Angela Davis and Miss Major, we will ask whether advocating for the improvement of prison conditions is an effective strategy, consider who profits from mass incarceration and imagine the possibility of prison abolition. And don’t forget to have fun in the process—you are in the queer underground!

Are you satisfied with the dating websites and apps currently available? Are they designed with your needs and experience in mind? “2SpiritDreamCatherDotCom” introduces a special dating website for two-spirit people, that will never exist under capitalism, where only the demands of the normative majority truly matter. Ironically using marketing schemes while problematizing the erasure of experiences of two-spirit people, Theo Jean Cuthand invites you to register on a dating website without stress, disrespect, and cultural appropriation. Here you can find new ideas for your dates, like the nearby pipeline protests, but be respectful and act by consent – otherwise you will experience the anger of elders.

Talking about anger, “Terror Nullius” refers to the term terra nullius (“nobody's land”), that was heavily used to justify the colonization of land where communities existed beyond the conception of white European states. Colonization brought the total terror of racism, extractivism, and the forced assimilation of indigenous populations of Australia, along with the destruction of entire ecosystems. The filmmakers use inventive editing of pirated footage from the Australian film canon to take bloody revenge against sexism, racism, homophobia, and unequal distribution of resources. Because humans and animals are rightfully pissed off!

We can’t imagine a program on camp without drag! In “Avant-drag!” performers use drag to tell personal stories of opposing racism, nationalism, toxic masculinity (including within activist spaces), normative representations of gender, ableism, and medicalization. Nowadays drag is a very popular and at times glamorized queer art, but the protagonists focus on its political agenda, addressing through drag the most painful experiences and making the most critical statements. Calling attention to local stories and challenges, the film scrutinizes the idea of building LGBTQ+ movements using the Western blueprint. We are all different and corporate Pride will not be the answer to systemic challenges. However, accompanied by support and solidarity, a critical stance and work towards dismantling the various oppressions can lead us towards change.