Rosa von Praunheim's Army of Lovers

Rosa von Praunheim, Armee der Liebenden oder Aufstand der Perversen (Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts), 16mm on digital video, 107 mins., 1979.

Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts (1979) is a trailblazing film by German provocateur Rosa von Praunheim documenting the 1970s emergence of Pride and the gay rights movement in America. Interviews with political organizers like Harry Hay (Mattachine Society, One), Del Martin and Phylis Lyon (Daughters of Bilitis), Jean O’Leary (National Gay Task Force), Sarah Montgomery (PFLAG) mash up with footage of Anita Bryant, Grace Jones, Fred Halsted and John Rechy. Interviewing gays across the country in prides marches, cruising spots and Mardi Gras parades, Praunheim provokes dialogue on the early movement’s conflicting stances on ableism, indigeneity, racism and sexism. This includes granting equal opportunity for input by members of gay organized religious sects, NAMBLA, the Gay Nazi Party alongside the movement’s more cherished forebearers. Praunheim pushes the gay and lesbian agenda towards its political and conceptual breaking points, even leading a filmmaking class at SFAI to shoot a pornographic scenario in which their professor performs.

Filmmaker and gay‐rights activist Rosa von Praunheim is one of the leading figures in gay and lesbian cinema and New German Cinema, although his deliberately controversial techniques, designed to challenge audiences, have sometimes caused him to be criticized by both gay and anti‐gay supporters. Praunheim originally studied painting in Berlin and was an assistant for such filmmakers as Werner Schroeter and Gregory J. Markopoulous. Praunheim made his first gay‐themed film, Sisters of the Revolution, in 1969. One of his most influential films was 1970′s made‐for‐TV outing, It Is Not the Homosexual Who Is Perverse, But the Situation in Which He Lives, another example of his usage of negative gay stereotypes to politicize their plight and plea for more rights. Not all of von Praunheim’s films focus on homosexuality; some deal with those living on the fringes of society.

Title courtesy of missingFILMs with thanks to Liz Purchell. A limited edition riso print available to the first 50 attendees designed by Benjamin Rodgers.