As part of 100 YEARS OF IRMA VEP, a celebration of the 100th anniversary of the silent film Les Vampires (dir. Louis Feuillade, 1915), PARTICIPANT INC presents a reading to place the work of Musidora within a queer feminist history, combining Michelle Handelman’s research at the Cinematheque Francaise with texts from Kathy Acker, William Burroughs, Flawless Sabrina, and the lost love letters between Musidora and the writer Colette, translated into English for the first time for this evening. Also featuring an excerpt of Everett Quinton and Charles Ludlam's The Mystery of Irma Vep.

Featuring: Marti Domination (CREMASTER 1), Cy Gavin, Michelle Handelman, (IRMA VEP, THE LAST BREATH), Katherine Hubbard, Nicola Tyson, Jack Doroshow AKA Flawless Sabrina (THE QUEEN), Everett Quinton (THE MYSTERY OF IRMA VEP), and Jack Waters (JASON AND SHIRLEY).

With a limited edition print by PARTICIPANT PRESS.

Workshopped in collaboration with the Henry Art Gallery & University of Washington graduate students Annie Fee, Tracy Gregory, Coley Mixan, and John Boucher.

100 YEARS OF IRMA VEP: Celebration of the 100th anniversary of the silent film Les Vampires (dir. Louis Feuillade, 1915):

Les Vampires premiered across Europe from November 1915 through July 1916. It is one of a trilogy of serials Feuillade made for Gaumont Studios, alongside the films Fantômas (1913) and Judes (1916). Shot during World War 1, it follows the exploits of a brazen Apache gang “Les Vampires” who rob the elite of Parisian society. Its subtext of the working class versus the ruling class is cloaked in a macabre and ritualistic plot with episodic titles such as The Severed Head, The Thunder Master and The Terrible Wedding.

Irma Vep, the first femme fatale or “vamp” of cinema history which set the tone for dozens of archetypal successors such as Catwoman and La Femme Nikita, turns 100 this year. The character first emerged in Les Vampires, a seven-hour serial film – one of the longest ever made – in 1915 by director Louis Feuillade. In honor of the 100th anniversary of the legendary film, Michelle Handelman, filmmaker, artist and professor in the Fashion Institute of Technology’s new Film, Media and Performing Arts department, will present the first series of programming in New York to examine the cultural impact of Les Vampires and illuminate the vast body of work of Musidora, the prolific silent film icon that starred as Irma Vep.

EVENTS INCLUDE:

Oct 22–26
5-Day Les Vampires Film Tribute
Anthology Film Archives

Oct 27
The Work of Musidora: Lecture + screening
Fashion Institute of Technology

Nov 3
Live Reading Performance + Limited Edition prints
Participant Inc

Nov 6
The Spectre of Musidora: Live remix with musician MV Carbon + live film mix by Michelle Handelman
Microscope Gallery