Wojnarowicz: F--k You F-ggot F--ker

“Bottom line is I may be dying of AIDS in America in 1989. Isn't that political?” In portraying the underground American artist and political activist, Chris McKim chose to take a found-footage approach similar to that of Asif Kapadia’s films about Senna, Amy Winehouse and Maradona. In particular, he proceeded based on Wojnarowicz's extensive estate, including his artworks as well as personal videos and recordings of telephone calls. The artist, who died of AIDS at the age of thirty-seven, is thus largely presented to us through his own work and voice, speaking about hatred toward gays, the anxiety that accompanies dying and a growing feeling of alienation from the art world and American society, which, through the lens of Wojnarowicz, was sicker than people with AIDS. His multimedia approach is also presented through animated collages and the way in which videos, photographs, drawings, graffiti and music recordings are combined in the film. The combination of different media and casting light on the process of mediation is so diverse and imaginative that the documentary, which is reminiscent of a walk through a retrospective exhibition in a gallery, is worth watching due to its form alone. However, it is also very valuable for the openness with which it speaks about the disappearance of hippie idealism during the 1970s and 1980s, about life on the streets of the East Village at the time, and about the transformation of the human body and mind under the influence of HIV. In short, the film is uncompromising, raw and probably quite close to the way Wojnarowicz created and lived. (20/07/2021)