GRAPE STEAK
dirs. Jen Atherton & Andre Shannon, 2018 - 2023
99 mins. Australia.
In English.

ONE NIGHT ONLY!
THURSDAY, JUNE 15 - 10 PM with filmmaker Q+A!
(This event is $10.)

“Bridget Jones Diary inside Blair Witch Project set in The Zone”
-Garden Reflexxx

Shot over the course of five years using a variety of formats—Arri Amira, iPhone, Sony Handycam, JVC Everio, Sony NX200 and 35mm scratch—GRAPE STEAK is a patchwork portrait of Sydney’s queer  community. As the debut feature of queerdomediamakers Jen Atherton and Andre Shannon—collectively known as Garden Reflexxx—it relishes in their stylistic flourishes, mixing a discomorting but hilarious wryness with a brazen commitment to reinvent the film’s form as it unspools. In many ways, the film’s endless transformations speak to its making, which involved a variety of agents willing to work collectively in opposition to the dominant cinema of Australia.

As far as plot goes, GRAPE STEAK concerns two friends who encounter someone who’s been gay bashed and the rumors circulating the infamous site of said bashing. The film shifts perspectives as audiences are tasked with figuring out its catalyzing mystery, involving performances by Brooklyn stars like Macy Rodman. As it spins through various cycles of humor and horror, GRAPE STEAK mines the always-tantalizing relationship between eros and death. The end result is a sprawling mosaic as intoxicating as it is impressive.

Special thanks to Jen Atherton and Andre Shannon, Soda Jerk and Stephen Cappel.