Excavating Queer Pasts: A Screening & Conversation with Sam Ashby
Join us for a Master of Film public lecture by Sam Ashby on the 2nd of April (19:30) at the Netherlands Film Academy
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Join Master of Film alumnus Sam Ashby for an evening exploring queer cinematic histories through Little Joe, the new anthology based on his cult queer cinema journal which ran from 2010 to 2021, alongside a screening of his short films. The presentation will be followed by a conversation and Q&A. Ashby’s practice is driven by a desire to connect with queer pasts that feel both distant and intimately present. Rooted in extensive archival research, his films weave 16mm film, found footage, and personal narratives to reveal hidden stories. From lost queer utopias to intimate portraits of desire and resistance, his work invites audiences to reflect on memory, identity, and belonging. The post-screening discussion will offer further insight into his creative process and the themes that shape his practice.
The Colour of His Hair (2017)
Based on an unrealised film script written in 1964 for The Homosexual Law Reform Society, a British organisation that campaigned for the decriminalisation of homosexual relations between men, ‘The Colour of His Hair’ merges drama and documentary into an impressionistic meditation on queer life before the partial legalisation of homosexuality in 1967.
La Licorne (2022)
La Licorne is a short documentary exploring the life and career of French striptease artist and actress Rita Renoir, and her relationship to Île du Levant, a naturist island in the South of France.
Sanctuary (2024)
Sanctuary explores queer spirituality and utopian sexualities through Purusha Androgyne Larkin (1934–1988)—a monk, pioneering gay filmmaker, and self-proclaimed cosmic-erotic mystic. His 1981 book, The Divine Androgyne, challenged repression with a vision of erotic spirituality and radical pleasure. Shot on 16mm, the film traces Larkin’s attempt to build a utopian community and examines his legacy in queer culture. Through archival materials and the voices of his friends and followers, Sanctuary paints a portrait in absentia, evoking a search for intimacy, care, and imagination beyond the constraints of assimilation.
Sam Ashby (b. 1981) is a British artist based in London. Sam’s archival, research-led practice is concerned with uncovering marginal narratives and activating them through film, writing and publishing. From 2010–2021 he edited, designed and published Little Joe, a journal for the discussion of film around subjects of sexuality and gender within a queer historical context. His first film, The Colour of His Hair (2017) premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam and won the Best Documentary prize at London Short Film Festival 2018. His film La Licorne (2022), was commissioned by Villa Noailles for the 90th anniversary of Île du Levant, a naturist colony in the South of France. His most recent film, Sanctuary (2024) was the centrepiece of his first solo show at San Mei Gallery, London. He was an artist in residence at the Fire Island Artist Residency (FIAR, 2014), is a recipient of the Van Abbemuseum’s Deviant Practice research grant (2018–2019), and is a MacDowell Colony Fellow (2016, 2019). Most recently, he has edited an anthology of Little Joe for SPBH Editions/MACK, and was an artist in residence at the Tom of Finland Foundation (2024).
