I Know What It's Like to be Dead

The(ir) Blurb...

Part of a 15-minute triptych presented at the Museum of Modern Art retrospective held in honour of LaBruce, this gritty self-portrait provides insight into the gay cineaste's pre-narrative phase. A 16mm collage of Toronto 80s moments with an eclectic sound-track of Tiny Tim and radio samples.

“My character in the film, played by myself, becomes ill and dies on the operating table,” explains the prolific director of his montage-like work. “He then has a life-after-death experience, including visions of zombie children, Lucille Ball, and the infamous kiss between Linda Evans and AIDS victim Rock Hudson on Dynasty.” What emerges is a hypnogogic collage of visions and impressions that solidify LaBruce's reputation in the American mainstream—a turn of events that led to a major retrospective on his work at New York’s MoMA in 2015.