Lynn Hershman Leeson’s strikingly unconventional documentary concerns
the ongoing legal case of Steve Kurtz, an artist, activist and art professor
who was arrested as a bioterrorist. In 2004 Kurtz was preparing an art exhibition
on the hot-button topic of genetically modified food, when his wife Hope died
suddenly of heart failure. Paramedics called in the FBI when they saw Petri
dishes containing bacteria Kurtz had ordered over the Internet. With a federal
case in progress, and Kurtz himself unable to discuss certain topics, the film
employs actors- Thomas Jay Ryan as Steve and Tilda
Swinton as Hope- to explore
the issues, both as their characters and as themselves. This experimental approach,
which also casts Peter Coyote and Josh
Kornbluth in roles, is dynamic and effective
in illuminating the vital issues. Strange Culture makes a persuasive
case that the charges against Kurtz are motivated by two agendas: the powerful
food industry’s investment in GMF, and the Justice Department’s
expansion of power over free expression. At the film’s Sundance premiere
this year, Variety wrote: “Younger filmmakers should be looking to Hershman
Leeson for lessons on how to reinvent old forms while at the same time telling
an urgently topical story.” Music: The Residents.
Camera: Hiro Narita. Editor/Writer/Director: Lynn Hershman Leeson. (US 2007) 75 min.
Lynn Hershman Leeson’s strikingly unconventional documentary concerns
the ongoing legal case of Steve Kurtz, an artist, activist and art professor
who was arrested as a bioterrorist. In 2004 Kurtz was preparing an art exhibition
on the hot-button topic of genetically modified food, when his wife Hope died
suddenly of heart failure. Paramedics called in the FBI when they saw Petri
dishes containing bacteria Kurtz had ordered over the Internet. With a federal
case in progress, and Kurtz himself unable to discuss certain topics, the film
employs actors- Thomas Jay Ryan as Steve and Tilda
Swinton as Hope- to explore
the issues, both as their characters and as themselves. This experimental approach,
which also casts Peter Coyote and Josh
Kornbluth in roles, is dynamic and effective
in illuminating the vital issues. Strange Culture makes a persuasive
case that the charges against Kurtz are motivated by two agendas: the powerful
food industry’s investment in GMF, and the Justice Department’s
expansion of power over free expression. At the film’s Sundance premiere
this year, Variety wrote: “Younger filmmakers should be looking to Hershman
Leeson for lessons on how to reinvent old forms while at the same time telling
an urgently topical story.” Music: The Residents.
Camera: Hiro Narita. Editor/Writer/Director: Lynn Hershman Leeson. (US 2007) 75 min.
