Diving into the underground transgender world of the MIT (Italian Transsexual Movement).
I’ve been following the production of a “turbo film” in Milan with the Italian collective Alterazioni Video. It was an experience that I won’t forget. I had the chance to understand their methods and aesthetic by just taking part in their creative process. While there, I wrote a bullet point diary that I’m more than happy to share. I think that the list of events that follow explain what I went through better than any other commentary…
Wed 05/09/2012
Flying from Brooklyn to the heart of Milan.
Convincing a bunch of college students that it’s not necessary to write a script to make a “turbo film”.
Thur 05/10/2012
Diving into the underground transgender world of the MIT (Italian Transsexual Movement).
Improvising performances in public spaces and forbidden locations.
Friday 05/11/2012
Running away from the guards at the city palace while shooting the final scene all dressed in drag.
Pretending to have friends on a block in a rough neighborhood to take advantage of a thirty-three floor residential building and get a good angle of the city from the roof.
Sat 05/12/2012
Entering the temple of the worldwide opera theater (La Scala) and stealing images from history.
Flash mobbing the Parco Sempione to reenact the chorus of an ancient Greek tradgedy.
Sun 05/13/2012
Going around looking for a sex club to shut down on Sunday afternoon in Crescenzago to use as a good location for the dance scene, completely hung over. Noticing a bide next to each sofa…
Mon 05/14/2012
Betting euros and playing volleyball against professional Brazilian transgender players.
Tue 05/15/2012
Convincing a priest that we are a Catholic student group shooting the holy Virgin Mary for a school documentary on faith and behavior.
Eating at a restaurant with the actress and getting photographed by a family of Australian tourists while kissing huge fake breasts.
Wed 05/16/2012
Enjoying the party-like process of making a “turbo film” from location scouting to filming.
Getting an ironic glimpse of the Bunga Bunga culture in the rein of the deposed Italian Short King.
Thur 05/17/2012
Flying back to Brooklyn with a refrain in my mind: “… Latin Lover, Latin Lover …” and understanding the certainty that this explosive form of film-making and performing fits perfectly into the visual culture we are all drowning in.
Leanrnig a ton from these neat articles.