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Obsessed with Light

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Available screening types

Virtual

On-demand

In-person

Available until

May 01, 2032

Available in

United States of America, Canada

About the film

OBSESSED WITH LIGHT pulls back the curtain on Loïe Fuller (1862-1928), a wildly original performer who pioneered modern dance though combining fabric and movement to develop a completely new kind of spectacle. Creating a dialogue between the past and the present, filmmakers Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum delve into the astonishing influence Fuller's work has had on contemporary culture including artists like Taylor Swift, Bill T. Jones, Shakira, William Kentridge, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, among many others. “A rich tapestry of discoveries by a passionately devoted mover and transformer of light and shape,” (Eye On Dance) OBSESSED WITH LIGHT is a close study of a woman who became famous on her own terms – unapologetic about her body type, open about her sexuality, and protective of her signature, often mimicked, style.

Genre

Documentary

Runtime

1h 30m

Released

2023

Director

Sabine Krayenbühl, Zeva Oelbaum

Awards & recognition

DOC NYC

Official Selection

Rome Film Festival

Official Selection

Palm Springs Int. Film Festival

Official Selection

What people are saying

"This wondrous doc is most thrilling as an archival endeavor of all that Fuller created and inspired...a necessary watch for even those having a passing interest in dance, silent cinema, la Belle époque, lighting design, modern fashion and perhaps everything in between."

Manuel Betancourt

Variety

"[M]esmerizing and alluring and haunting...."

Alissa Wilkinson

The New York Times

"Named one of Hyperallergic's 25 Best Films of 2024... [A] lustrous tribute to the lesbian icon’s vision, Obsessed with Light juxtaposes archival footage with contemporary iterations of the Serpentine Dance, a genre she created. To see original footage of Fuller onstage, her whirring body a lambent flower, is to reconsider what makes dance — or any art form — 'modern.' "

Eileen G’Sell

Hyperallergic

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