This event is a screening and discussion celebrating the canonisation of Derek Jarman of the order of the Celluloid Knights & the work of the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence. The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are an order of queer nuns, who were extremely vocal and critical of UK government's lack of mobilisation and research towards HIV/AIDS in the late 80's and early 90's. We will be screening two films:
‘21st Century Nuns’ dir. Tom Stephan (1994)
21st Century Nuns This BFI Archive Film features “an interview with Derek Jarman at the Soho Valentine's Day parade, one of his last screen appearances before his death in February 1994. Jarman was canonised by the Sisters and proclaimed Saint Derek of Dungeness of the Order of Celluloid Knights”.
‘Saintmaking’ dir. Marco Alessi (2021) [closed captions]
Saintmaking “tells the tale of a group of queer “nuns” in 90s London who decided to canonise Derek Jarman – film-maker, artist, gardener and more – as an act of political protest.”
Following the screening, Tom Stephan & Mother Mandragora will discuss Queer Activism of the time and the making of 21st Century Nuns and closing with a Q&A.
A Night of Perpetual Indulgence The Old Nunshead 9 Feb 2025
Tom Stephan is an American house music, producer, DJ and film director. He was born in New York. He is also known as Superchumbo. In 1990, Stephan relocated to London and studied film at the London Film School where he directed 21st Century Nuns. 21st Century Nuns is a BFI Archive Film that features “an interview with Derek Jarman at the Soho Valentine's Day parade, one of his last screen appearances before his death in February 1994. Jarman was canonised by the Sisters and proclaimed Saint Derek of Dungeness of the Order of Celluloid Knights”.
Marco Alessi (they/them) is a BAFTA-nominated film director and writer based in London. Their most recent film, SAINTMAKING, is a short doc commissioned by the Guardian about the canonisation of queer filmmaker Derek Jarman by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, a group of queer activist nuns. They are also about to start the festival journey of their next short, THE BOWER, a sister project to SAINTMAKING. The film explores the different generational experiences of HIV through two interwoven timelines in 1991 and 2021, pivoting around a dramatic recreation of Jarman's canonisation.
Mother Mandragora salacious in Purple cofounded the london house and indeed the uk order of perpetual indulgence in 1990. And was one of the sisters who canonised Derek Jarman amongst a roll call of other saints. In their secular life, as kell farshea they were press officer of ACT UP London in 1989 aged just 23. They founded the Countdown on Spanner & SMPride Marches in 1992 - the first explicity bdsm rights group in the world and they led the campaign to take the uk government to the european court of human rights over SM rights
Since the heady days of the 90s, kell has finished a degree, written many articles and talks about queer, SM, feminist, anarchist and trans politics. And since 2020 has written regularly on trans issues for Freedom, the oldest continuously published anarchist journal in the world They are a poet who has amongst others performed at the Barbican & the Antwerp Queer Arts Festival. They live in London with a companion animal. In their secular life they answer to auntie, they & ma'am but tonight they answer to Mother.
Biographies
The Old Nun's Head,
15 Nunhead Green,
London,
SE15 3QQ
Produced with support from BFI Player, The Bishopsgate Institute and The Old Nun's Head.