Title – ‘Desire Will Set You Free‘
Director – Yony Leyser
Starring – Yony Leyser, Tim-Fabian Hoffmann, Chloe Griffin, Amber Benson
Release Date – May 5, 2016
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Christopher Isherwood once wrote of his time in Berlin, ‘I am a camera with its shutter open, quite passive, recording, not thinking.’ The director of ‘Desire Will Set You Free‘, Yony Leyser, who also co-wrote and stars in the film absolutely aligns with that principle
in this hybrid fiction-doc combo. After the wall came down in 1989 Berlin slowly started becoming the queer melting pot it was once famous for due to the growth of hedonistic techno clubs in large abandoned warehouses. ‘Desire Will Set You Free‘ documents this time around 2010-2013 when Berlin became the hip place for young people to move to for its cheap housing, plentiful parties, and sex positive atmosphere.
The film follows a group of queer friends led by Ezra (a Palestinian/Israeli writer) and Cat (a very fun and dominant bisexual) as they move through the clubs (and doing lots of drugs in said clubs), parks (and having lots of sex in said parks), and architecture (just architecture! get your heads outta the gutter. Jeez.) of modern Berlin. Along the way Ezra falls for Sasha, a Russian hustler who’s dealing with confusion regarding his gender identity.
The movie features an uber-large cast of famous cameos: Amber Benson (Tara on ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’), ‘Godmother of Punk’ Nina Hagen as Oracle, cult musician and performance artist Peaches, along with Rosa Von Praunheim, Rummelsnuff, Blood Orange, and Einstuerzende Neubauten and Blixa Bargeld (formerly of Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds).
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Watch it with: Your cool hipster friends
Mix it with: Weed, Cocaine, and MDMA
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