Plum Circus

A circus and artistes of the sort one knows only from dreams: peculiar, eccentric, mysterious, but also brutal, bloody, and horny; that´s how the performances in Plum Circus by Katrina Daschner can be described. Visible is a diva in a pink dildo costume followed by two tightrope walkers who lift weights, balancing with feather boas.
A drumbeat, change of scene to a performance by wild cats. They appear in a pack, whereby one of the willful, furry creatures denies the offspring her breast.
In Lynch-like nightmare style, between these seemingly surreal scenes a spotlight pans repeatedly over the empty spectator seats. It shows the crimson plastic chairs shining in the light, focuses on the psychedelic disc for knife throwing or brushes over the velvet curtains decorated with golden brocade bands.

Similar to the actors, the material "touched" by the camera—including licorice and colorful bonbons—triggers various cravings and desires. In other scenes, knives and (bodily) fluids bring into play a splatter movie aesthetic.
In Plum Circus, Katrina Daschner stages a seductive round dance that exploits all visual stimulants: Whether the fantastical costumes, shining materials, magical sounds, or erotic bodies that turn the viewers´ heads.
Starting point in a series of her films are diverse motifs from the Dream Story by Arthur Schnitzler: in the case of Plum Circus, it is the "mad circus of relations" of the couple, whereby in her burlesque, queer version, the artist fortunately places more emphasis on the circus than the relationship. (Christa Benzer)

Translation: Lisa Rosenblatt

Orig. Title
Plum Circus
Year
2019
Country
Austria
Duration
12 min
Director
Katrina Daschner
Category
Experimental
Orig. Language
No Dialogue
Downloads
Plum Circus (Image)
Plum Circus (Image)
Plum Circus (Image)
Credits
Director
Katrina Daschner
Script
Katrina Daschner
Cinematography
Hannes Böck
Editing
Katrina Daschner, Hannes Böck
Sound
Sabine Marte
Production
Lady Chutney Production
Actor/Actress
Nora Safranek, Sabine Marte, Katrina Daschner, Denice Bourbon, Hyo Lee, Stefanie Sourial, Denise Kottlett
Costumes
Markus Pires-Mata, Guilherme Pires-Mata
Set Design
Monika Rovan
Make-Up
Jo Resch, Denise Kottlett
Executive Producer
Katrina Daschner
Assistant Director
Anna Spanlang
Supported by
BKA - innovative film, Land Niederösterreich
Available Formats
DCP 2K flat
Aspect Ratio
16:9
Sound Format
5.1 surround
Frame Rate
25 fps
Color Format
colour
Digital File (prores, h264) (Distribution Copy)
Festivals (Selection)
2019
Graz - Diagonale, Festival des österreichischen Films
München - UnderDox, Festival für Dokument und Experiment
2021
Berlin- XPOSED International Queer Film Festival