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Drawn to cinema and already making Super 8mm movies as a child, Todd Haynes earned cinematic cult hero status with the banned but bootlegged 1987 underground hit Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story. Following the 1991 release of his first feature, Poison (an ambitious reimagining of stories by Jean Genet in three distinct cinematic idioms), he was recognized as a pioneer of the New Queer Cinema.
SF/Arts Curator Insight
A cult figure of New Queer Cinema, Haynes began his career with the 1987 underground sensation, "Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story,” a short he followed with “Poison,” a three-chapter reimagining of Jean Genet stories; and, the eerie psychological study, “Safe,” starring Julianne Moore as a suburban housewife plagued by mysterious illness. That signature film telegraphed the arrival of a major indie filmmaker with an interest in the tension between outward calm and interior turmoil. Moore collaborated on several other projects: “Far From Heaven,” Haynes’ riff on Douglas Sirk melodramas, and his recent effort. “May December.” BAMPFA’s retrospective also features “Carol,” an adaptation of Patricia Highsmith's "The Price of Salt"
with Cate Blanchett, who channels a Bob Dylan “proxy” in the impressionistic biopic/collage, “I’m Not There.”
Sura Wood
Contributing Writer, Film
As the visual arts center at one of the world’s leading public research universities, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) brings the rich artistic resources of the UC Berkeley campus to the broader public. BAMPFA’s mission is to inspire the imagination, ignite critical dialog, and activate community engagement through art, film, and other forms of creative expression.
As the visual arts center at one of the world’s leading public research universities, the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA) brings the rich artistic resources of the UC Berkeley campus to the broader public. BAMPFA’s mission is to inspire the imagination, ignite critical dialog, and activate community engagement through art, film, and other forms of creative expression.