Anger to lecture on ‘Fireworks,’ ‘Scorpio Rising’

Kenneth Anger made his first film at age 10, has “Lucifer” tattooed on his chest and considered Alfred Kinsey a father figure, said his unofficial biographer Bill Landis.
On Friday, the 84-year-old experimental filmmaker will lecture and present two of his avant-garde films at IU Cinema.

Anger was one of America’s first openly gay filmmakers and the first to directly address homosexual themes in film. His films blend surrealism, camp and cultural and countercultural symbolism, and they have influenced such renowned directors as Martin Scorsese, David Lynch and Gus Van Sant.

He has been making films for more than 60 years, ranging in length from three to 60 minutes.

The 15-minute “Fireworks” film was released in 1947 when Anger was 20, although he originally claimed that he was 17.

The film faced years of censorship and controversy for its graphic homoeroticism. However, the California Supreme Court exonerated it in a 1959 obscenity trial.

“Scorpio Rising,” released in 1963, is possibly the director’s most famous, or rather, infamous, work. Filled with leather-clad bikers and a rock ’n’ roll soundtrack, “Scorpio Rising” solidified Anger’s position as one of the pre-eminent underground filmmakers of
the era.

Anger will introduce both films and answer questions afterward.

The event is co-sponsored by the IU Cinema and the Kinsey Institute for Research in Sex, Gender and Reproduction.

— John Seasly