Biography
Michelle Handelman (born August 5, 1960) is an American contemporary artist, filmmaker, and writer who works with live performance, multiscreen installation, photography and sound. Coming up through the years of the AIDS crisis and Culture Wars, Handelman has built a body of work that explores the dark and uncomfortable spaces of queer desire. She confronts the things that provoke collective fear and denial – sexuality, death, chaos. She directed the ground-breaking feature documentary on the 1990s San Francisco lesbian S/M scene BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes & Sadomasochism(1995), described by IndieWire as “a queer classic ahead of its time, a vital archive of queer history.” Her early work included 16mm black and white experimental films combined with performance. She is also known for her video installations Hustlers & Empires (2018), Irma Vep, The Last Breath (2013-2015), and Dorian, A Cinematic Perfume (2009-2011). In 2011, she was awarded a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Fellowship for her film and video work.
Filmography
Cast Credits
Crew
Crew Credits
Claiming the Liminal Space
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2021
Abigail
Role: Thanks
MOVIE • 2021
Candyland
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2020
Solitude is an Artifact of the Struggle Against Oppression
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2020
These Unruly and Ungovernable Selves
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2020
FIT Hives: Sustainability - The Secret to Survival
Role: Thanks
MOVIE • 2017
Irma Vep, The Last Breath
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2014
Dorian, a cinematic perfume
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2009
I Hate You
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2002
La Suture
Role: Director of Photography
MOVIE • 2000
La Suture
Role: Director
MOVIE • 2000
BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes, and Sadomasochism
Role: Producer
MOVIE • 1995
BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes, and Sadomasochism
Role: Editor
MOVIE • 1995
BloodSisters: Leather, Dykes, and Sadomasochism
Role: Director
MOVIE • 1995
Terminal USA
Role: Original Music Composer
MOVIE • 1993
A History of Pain
Role: Director
MOVIE • 1992
Flesh Histories
Role: Director
MOVIE • 1992
A History of Pain
Role: Writer
MOVIE • 1992
A History of Pain
Role: Producer
MOVIE • 1992
Homophobia Is Known To Cause Nightmares
Role: Director
MOVIE • 1991