Lightstruck: Luminous Procuress (Trailer) – FESCH.TV

Lightstruck: Luminous Procuress (Trailer) & FESCH.TV:

Steven Arnold’s Luminous Procuress and The Yellow Sequence by Jack Smith, both in 16mm!

Multidisciplinary artist and Dalí protégé, Steven Arnold fearlessly distinguished himself as a singular and pivotal creative force in the burgeoning Bay Area underground art scene of the 60s and 70s. Exploring new realms of consciousness through the aid of psychedelic substances, Arnold engaged with a colorful cast of free thinkers to create an idiosyncratic body of work exploring themes of fantasy, transformation, surrealism, self-discovery, and cutting-edge fashion. In 1970, after making multiple experimental short films and programming the Nocturnal Dream Shows – an avant-garde midnight screening series in San Francisco – Arnold made his only feature, Luminous Procuress. Featuring exuberant performances from drag legends The Cockettes and an otherworldly Buchla score by electronic composer Warner Jepson, this film explores a queer, colorful, and sensual dream-space unlike any other. Erotic, esoteric, and positively hallucinatory, prepare to transcend through a strange realm of absolute opulence, allegory, liberation and divine beauty.

Luminous Procuress will be preceded by Jack Smith’s The Yellow Sequence, featuring performances from Tiny Tim, Mario Montez, a mermaid, and various ‘30s horror movie monsters.

This program contains adult content.

Program and notes by Zena Grey. Special thanks to Jon Shibata. 16mm preservation print of Luminous Procuress courtesy of the Pacific Film Archive and Harry Tsvi Strauch. 16mm print of The Yellow Sequence courtesy of Canyon Cinema.