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Olivia wears pinstriped jacket Tagliatore 0205, lace blouse Chanel, PVC rollneck Ellery, strawboater hat Alyx, vintage Sex Pistols, Evil, Steve Marriott Rules badges Contemporary Wardrobe 2 6 The Misandrists PhotographySarahPiantadosi StylingEllieGraceCumming Text Ione Gamble Olivia Kundisch After ditching travelling across Thailand to star in Bruce LaBruce’s The Misandrists, Olivia Kundisch’s portrayal of her character Hilde wasn’t exactly what she had in mind for her summer holiday. A Berlin resident of nine years (she sums up her experiences in the city as “madness”), Kundisch is unlikely to be a newcomer at the shoot location – legendary broadcasting house-turned-nightlifespotFunkhaus.“Igrewupin thecountrysideclose to the Polish border,” she says. “In summer 2008 I moved to Berlin on my own. Living here is incredible, but it’s always good to get out of my comfort zone.” Playing the role of a rule-obsessed Female Liberation Army member seemingly more devoted to the cause than many of her fellow conscripts, Kundisch admits she wasn’t always 100 per cent comfortable with the film’s no-holds-barred script. “I did have a moment of despair because of lines like, ‘Big Mother says cigarettes are phallic surrogates indicating an unresolved oral phase,’” she says – but LaBruce quickly put her at ease. “Bruce is a remarkable, passionate, radical and resilient artist. So it was an awesome experience for me.”
page 37
2 7 “I do basically think that the patriarchy has fucked up the world and women should have a chance to run it…” Riotous director Bruce LaBruce is back with The Misandrists, his fierce take on radical feminism. He introduces his cast of outspoken new faces calling for a full-on femme uprising “I’ve always wanted to make a film that is completely centred on women. I’ve made two films that are exclusively about male characters, so I thought it was high time I made a film about women. Most of my films have at least one very strong female character, and in fact she is usually like my proxy in the movie: the character that controlsthe narrative or is the most philosophical or analytical. In terms of matriarchy, I spent a lot of time in a strong feminist academic environment in university (I took a course called psychoanalysis and feminism in grad school, and I was the only male in the class), so I was taught the history of feminism. I knowthe dynamics very well, enough to be critical about what I consider the bad parts of it – thecensorshipand anti-porn and anti-transgender faction. I do basically think that the patriarchy has fucked up the world and women should be given a chance to run it, but not if they are assimilationists and conform to the capitalist, neo-liberal status quo. “The casting of the film was very fluid. The producers cast from professional casting agencies, and I cast from social media and friends and colleagues with whom I’ve worked before. I’ve worked with Susanne Sachsse on numerous films and stage productions, so I’m always keen to work with her. Kembra Pfahler and Viva Ruiz areestablished performersintheirownright. Fryd Bliss Resting and Sam (Dye)came to a talk I did at a gallery in Berlin, and we immediately connected and I knewI wanted them in the film. ImetKitaUpdikeafterIputanoticeonFacebook that I was looking for a young transgender person to play one of the leads. She responded, and she wassoperfect – itwasasifIhadwrittenthepart exclusively for her. “People have told me over the years that I have a light touch dealing with very heavy material.MyfilmTheRaspberryReich was asomewhat harshcritique ofthe radical leftand of radical chic, but it was simultaneously very sympathetic to extreme-left ideals and political strategies.(Iwasheavilyintothepunk movement in the 80s, so I’ve always been involved in radical politics.)I approached The Misandrists in the same way: it’s an occasionally blunt critique or satire of certain aspects of radical feminism, butatthesametimeIthinkit’squitesympathetic toward and supportive of a lot of basic feminist principles. I tried to give the women in the cast as much creative latitude as I could. I purposely worked as much as possible with women in keycreative positions – the music composers, the editor, the producers, the costume designer, the sales agent, etc. With the actors, especially the ones who played the schoolgirls, I was open tothem alteringtheircostumes and bringing their own style to the uniforms, and defining their own characters. I really did try to make as female-centric a film as I could. “I want people to consider that feminism can be very sexual and sexy. That lesbian separatists are totally justified in their beliefs considering the weight of history against them – the oppression, exploitation and subjugation. Andthat campis asecretcode sharedamong queers that can be quite political and radical. Oh, and that trans women should be considered women. I make it very clear in the film that I am against assimilationist feminism, just as I’m against gay assimilation. I don’t believe that adopting the social and sexual behaviours of your longtime oppressors, and capitulating to their corrupt, capitalistic and patriarchal system, is a valid strategy. Inevitably, the oppressed become the oppressors, a theme that runs through my films. A certain strain of current feminism buys into anti-porn, anti-sex, pro-censorship activism, which goes against all my artistic and philosophical principles!” – Bruce LaBruce

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2 7

“I do basically think that the patriarchy has fucked up the world and women should have a chance to run it…” Riotous director Bruce LaBruce is back with The Misandrists,

his fierce take on radical feminism. He introduces his cast of outspoken new faces calling for a full-on femme uprising

“I’ve always wanted to make a film that is completely centred on women. I’ve made two films that are exclusively about male characters, so I thought it was high time I made a film about women. Most of my films have at least one very strong female character, and in fact she is usually like my proxy in the movie: the character that controlsthe narrative or is the most philosophical or analytical. In terms of matriarchy, I spent a lot of time in a strong feminist academic environment in university (I took a course called psychoanalysis and feminism in grad school, and I was the only male in the class), so I was taught the history of feminism. I knowthe dynamics very well, enough to be critical about what I consider the bad parts of it – thecensorshipand anti-porn and anti-transgender faction. I do basically think that the patriarchy has fucked up the world and women should be given a chance to run it, but not if they are assimilationists and conform to the capitalist, neo-liberal status quo.

“The casting of the film was very fluid. The producers cast from professional casting agencies, and I cast from social media and friends and colleagues with whom I’ve worked before. I’ve worked with Susanne Sachsse on numerous films and stage productions, so I’m always keen to work with her. Kembra Pfahler and Viva Ruiz areestablished performersintheirownright. Fryd Bliss Resting and Sam (Dye)came to a talk I did at a gallery in Berlin, and we immediately connected and I knewI wanted them in the film. ImetKitaUpdikeafterIputanoticeonFacebook that I was looking for a young transgender person to play one of the leads. She responded, and she wassoperfect – itwasasifIhadwrittenthepart exclusively for her.

“People have told me over the years that I have a light touch dealing with very heavy material.MyfilmTheRaspberryReich was asomewhat harshcritique ofthe radical leftand of radical chic, but it was simultaneously very sympathetic to extreme-left ideals and political strategies.(Iwasheavilyintothepunk movement in the 80s, so I’ve always been involved in radical politics.)I approached The Misandrists in the same way: it’s an occasionally blunt critique or satire of certain aspects of radical feminism, butatthesametimeIthinkit’squitesympathetic toward and supportive of a lot of basic feminist principles. I tried to give the women in the cast as much creative latitude as I could. I purposely worked as much as possible with women in keycreative positions – the music composers, the editor, the producers, the costume designer, the sales agent, etc. With the actors, especially the ones who played the schoolgirls, I was open tothem alteringtheircostumes and bringing their own style to the uniforms, and defining their own characters. I really did try to make as female-centric a film as I could.

“I want people to consider that feminism can be very sexual and sexy. That lesbian separatists are totally justified in their beliefs considering the weight of history against them – the oppression, exploitation and subjugation. Andthat campis asecretcode sharedamong queers that can be quite political and radical. Oh, and that trans women should be considered women. I make it very clear in the film that I am against assimilationist feminism, just as I’m against gay assimilation. I don’t believe that adopting the social and sexual behaviours of your longtime oppressors, and capitulating to their corrupt, capitalistic and patriarchal system, is a valid strategy. Inevitably, the oppressed become the oppressors, a theme that runs through my films. A certain strain of current feminism buys into anti-porn, anti-sex, pro-censorship activism, which goes against all my artistic and philosophical principles!” – Bruce LaBruce

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