Is
What Was
by Jerry Tartaglia
Synopsis
Is
What Was is an experimental
documentary film essay that began as a visual diary of a visit to the Sachsenhausen
Concentration Camp near
Around the same time I had begun to
find vernacular photographs (snapshots) of Nazi soldiers that had been taken by
their compatriots during the time of the Holocaust. These photographs were
found in disassembled albums at flea markets and in private collections in
The contradiction between the Nazi
persecution of gay men and the visual evidence in the photographs prompted an
inquiry into the context in which sexual identity is formulated. This inquiry
led directly to the pioneering work of Karl Heinrich Ulrichs (1825 – 1895).
Although Ulrichs’ ideas of same
gender sexuality are steeped in 19th Century imagery, he was
nonetheless the first to name it, describe it,
and promote it in positive, constructive terms that included not only
the sexual aspects of Queer life, but sought to find the whole person in the andere sexualitaet (the
other sexuality).
Through the understanding of pride
and power the contradiction in the photographs can be deciphered, and Ulrichs’
“Raethsel” (riddle) can be resolved: Queer Identity
encompasses more than sexuality, and therein lays the threat to the power
structures of oppression.
The film intercuts present day
images of Sachsenhausen and
Credits and Cast
Jerry Tartaglia Writer,
Director, Editor
Sean M. Kirk Imaging and Photography
Tyler Arcaro Art
Direction and Technical Assistant
Special Appearances by:
Vaginal
Jim Hubbard Oscar Villegas
Marc Siegel Susanna Sachsse
Joshua Schneider Wilhelm Hein
Annette Frick John
Price
Go here for a
review by Brandon Judell
Go here for
a review of the film by Amy Defibaugh
Go here
for article in The Albright Reporter
