For this remarkable experimental film, the provocative avant-garde legend Stephen Dwoskin gathered together a group of strangers and filmed them as they explored their fantasies over a period of five days: a project that now sounds a little like TV's Big Brother. The ceremonial gowns and make-up here not only evoke the eroticism of European horror movies but also highlight the film's interplay between performance and intimacy. Jonas Mekas called it 'theatre of life'.
This bold film invites sustained, deep engagement as it works through a steady stream of ideas around the theme of resistance, both in its political and psychological manifestations. Artists Stuart Brisley and Marc Camille Chaimovicz assume the roles of historical figures from the French Resistance, and eventually reach breaking point as theatrical limits are met and breached.
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For Body Double 35, Dellsperger takes the second scene from Xanadu. Played by choreographer/dancer François Chaignaud, a sprightly group of Muses emerges dancing from a painting on the wall. At an exhibition at the Swiss Institute in 2016 Dellsperger reproduced the wall painting and in a strange switch the creation of the set precedes the idea of the film, even becoming its trigger. The entire equilibrium of things seems to be affected : the shots are reversed and Kira dances backwards until she becomes one with the wall. The loop is closed.
