About the film

Co-directors Nessa Norich and Hannah Roodman have created a music video that takes a punch at the patriarchy from two angles: satirizing the disembodying force of patriarchal oppression and celebrating the intersectional allyship of divinely embodied femmes. Inspired by Audre Lorde's Uses of the Erotic, a speech given by the black feminist and visionary poet in 1978, this work explores Lorde’s discourse on the liberatory power of the erotic. 

This resistance art/music video is set to an original track, produced by composer Zachary Seman, with lyrics adapted from two sacred texts (The Apochryphal & Psalm  126:5-6). The track incorporates sound bytes from Audre Lorde's speech and begins with Dr. Blasey Ford’s testimonial given at the Kavanaugh hearings (September 2018), reminding the viewer that “as women, we need all the strength we can get,” that liberation is intersectional and bound together, now more than ever.


SCREENINGS

American Dance Festival’s Movies By Movers, 2020, (Virtual)

Yiddish New York Festival 2018 at City Lore Gallery, New York, NY

Yiddish New York Festival 2020 (Virtual Exhibit)

Lab/Shul’s PPPPPurim at House of Yes, Brooklyn, NY

Us: Vol 1 (Brooklyn, NY)

Download the track and listen to audio interviews with our cast.

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Contributors

Directed by: Nessa Norich & Hannah Roodman
Produced by: Joanna Blieden, Nessa Norich, Hannah Roodman
Director of Photography: Souki Mehdoui
Production Design: Meirav Ong and Hannah Roodman
Editor: Jacki Huntington

cast

Lorde’s Pantheon
Katie Chelena
Mati Engel
Nicole Hill
Summer Pilaf
Jhani Miller
Crystelle Reola

The Ritual of the Judiths
Aya Aziz
Trisha Barton
Elana Brody
Laura Escalante
Janna Diamond
Domenica Garcia
Grace McLoughlin
Teshale Nuer
Viva Soudan

Patriarchy’s Disembodiment
Cara Francis
Anooj Bhandari
Julia Melfi
Jen Clark


Music

Original music production: Zachary Seman
Vocals: Joanna Bleiden, Elana Brody, Nessa Norich

Featuring the voices of
Dr. Christine Blasey Ford (Oct 2018)
Audre Lorde (1978)

Costume design - Laura Escalante
Headpiece design - Meirav Ong 
Plate design - Hannah Roodman

Production assistants
Dominica Garcia
Raquel Loving
Emilia Frias
Rosa Frias

Behind the Scenes