Channeling political dissent and creative daring into a revolutionary blend of history, fantasy, cinematic experimentation, satire, anger, fashion, and philosophy, legendary filmmaker Derek Jarman’s Jubilee follows Queen Elizabeth I as she travels 400 years into the future to witness a dystopian London overrun by a vicious gang of punk guerrilla girls led by the new Monarch of Punk. Scored by Brian Eno and featuring such cult figures as Adam Ant, The Rocky Horror Picture Show‘s Nell Campbell and Richard O’Brien, Siouxsie Sioux, Jayne County, Toyah Willcox, and more, Jubilee has been deemed one of Jarman’s five most essential films by the BFI and inspired an incredible, poignant 2003 speech by actress Tilda Swinton in commemoration of the filmmaker, her longtime friend and collaborator.
For more about the film’s production history, check out Jarman biographer Tony Peake’s Criterion Collection essay and the Guardian‘s deep-dive from 2007. Then join us at IU Cinema for a screening of this cult classic this Friday!
“Jarman’s sophomore film is a Molotov cocktail of celluloid — a film that practically dares you to watch it.” — Film Threat
Preceded by three short films from up-and-coming queer filmmakers, Jubilee will be screened at IU Cinema on February 24 as part of the series Forever Queer: Community, Memory, Survival.