Features / LGBTQ+
Stark, masterful queer cinema: “Pier Kids” comes to Bristol
Other Parties Film Company is bringing their debut film Pier Kids to Watershed between October 8-14.
Directed and shot by Elegance Bratton, Pier Kids is a documentary following the lives of three homeless LGBTQ+ youth of colour who spend their lives in and around New York City’s Christopher Street Pier, and their hopes for creating a better future for themselves.
is needed now More than ever
This is Elegance Bratton’s debut feature documentary, and choosing to premiere it the same week as the latest 007 movie is a bold choice to say the least.
Watching Pier Kids, it seems that “bold” is very much Bratton’s style.
Bratton uses contrast and juxtaposition to incredible effect. The glimmers of hope and positivity we see on screen are almost always followed by a snap-cut to something harsh, painful, or brutal.
This happens right from the start: in the first few minutes of the film, we hear Desean Irby- one of the film’s three core subjects- describe his reasons for coming to The Pier several years prior.
“The Pier, it’s where the beauty is, it’s where the ugly is, it’s where the drama is” he says, leaves rustling above his head, the lights of nighttime NYC flickering across the darkened Hudson River behind him.
Seconds later, we cut to Christopher Street, and a clutch of unfamiliar faces, mid-conversation; their friend has just ended his life by throwing himself into the Hudson.
The film, in its early moments, may seem a little disjointed; subjects are presented without ceremony, each with a unique set of views and circumstances, and we jump between them rapidly.
What Pier Kids is, in fact, is incredibly well crafted, as Bratton explores broad themes of family, religion, queerphobia, racism, and the failings of social systems (among others), and how they all interplay with each other in the lives of the documentary’s subjects.
It’s done so masterfully that one doesn’t even realise it’s happening- seemingly disconnected threads woven to show a full tapestry of the lives of this community.
The phrase “well-crafted” may imply that Pier Kids romanticizes or glosses over the harsh realities of life for homeless LGBTQ+ people of colour. Let me be clear: the film is as stark as the subject matter requires.
Desean Irby, one of the subjects of Pier Kids. Credit: Elegance Bratton
Don’t expect neat happy endings, or “where are they now” wrap-up text; just like in life, sometimes there are no clear answers or closure.
What you should expect is some of the most honest, stark, powerful filmmaking you have ever seen.
Pier Kids is showing at Watershed from October 8- 14. Get tickets here.
Main Image credit: Elegance Bratton.
Read More: SQUARE: A snapshot of mental health, education and sexuality in Bristol
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