Films A to Z
Sebastiane
- Runtime:
- 85' min.
- Year of Production:
- 1976
- Country:
- Great Britain
- Director:
- Cast:
- Neil Kennedy
Barney James
Leonardo Treviglio - Production Company:
- Berlinale Section:
- Retrospective
- Berlinale Category:
- Feature Film
Saint Sebastian is at the centre of Jarman's first feature film, which he made in 1976 together with editor and producer Paul Humfress. This is the story of the guardsman Sebastiane who is relegated to an isolated outpost of the empire. There, the soldiers while away the time in the sweltering heat with sword exercises, swimming and erotic games. In this heated atmosphere, Sebastiane comes into conflict with the sadistic captain Severus, who's secretly in love with him. Avowing himself a Christian, he gets killed by his comrades' arrows. Saint Sebastian, a naked youth, bound, exposed to the gaze of the public, pierced by arrows – few motifs of Christian mythology have inspired artists and writers to date to set their wits to the male body as this scene of martyrdom. Jarman's interpretation of the saint not only depicts him in the tradition of renaissance artists but also as a modern gay icon. The screening will present the new 2K digital version, remastered from the original camera negative by the BFI National Archive.
BIOGRAFIE Derek Jarman
Born 1942, died 1994. Studied painting and worked as a costume and set designer for the Royal Ballet. Worked as a set designer on Ken Russell’s 1970 film THE DEVILS. Made numerous short films before directing his first feature, SEBASTIANE, in 1976. His first film to screen at the Berlinale was THE TEMPEST in 1979. In addition to his subversive period dramas and experimental films, he began directing avant-garde music videos in the 1970s. He was also a committed campaigner for gay rights in Britain.
FILMOGRAFIE Derek Jarman (selection)
2014 Will You Dance with Me?
2008 Derek
1993 Blue
1992 Wittgenstein
1991 Edward II
1990 The Garden
1989 War Requiem
1987 The Last of England
1987 Aria
1986 Caravaggio
1985 The Angelic Conversation
1984 Imagining October
1979 The Tempest
1977 Jubilee
1976 Sebastiane
FILMOGRAFIE Paul Humfress (selection)
1976 Sebastiane