Jarman, Derek

▪ 1995

      British filmmaker (b. Jan. 31, 1942, Northwood, Middlesex, England—d. Feb. 19, 1994, London, England), crafted highly personal avant-garde motion pictures through which he sought to "demystify homosexuality" and explore human experience from a uniquely gay perspective. While Jarman often used classical plays or historical personages as the basis for his work, it was said that all of his films were in some way "about" homosexuality. Jarman studied at King's College, London, and the Slade School of Fine Art. He had some success as a painter and as a set designer for the Royal Ballet, the English National Opera, and other arts companies. After designing sets for two films by the controversial director Ken Russell, Jarman tried his hand at moviemaking. The result, Sebastiane (1975), was a low-budget portrait of the early Christian martyr and featured male nudity, homoerotic themes, and Latin dialogue in a Super-8 format. Jarman's other films (many of which were shot on a shoestring budget with Super-8 or 16-mm rather than conventional 35-mm stock) include Jubilee (1977), The Tempest (1979), Caravaggio (1986), War Requiem (1989), Edward II (1991), and Wittgenstein (1993). Blue (1993), which was made when Jarman was nearly blind, featured an unchanging plain blue screen and a spoken narrative of the director's own thoughts and feelings about his battle with AIDS. Glitterbug, a compilation of fragments from old home movies that was commissioned for television, was previewed shortly before his death. Jarman also wrote several books, including two volumes of memoirs, Modern Nature (1992) and At Your Own Risk (1992).

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