Pottenkijkers invites night collective Zeedyke for a film night on queer nightlife on March 19 at De Uitkijk.Get ready for Zeedyke’s second edition on March 28 with two films exploring radical underground escapism, entertainment, and nightlife: A LOVE LETTER TO THE BASEMENT and SHAKEDOWN.
A Love Letter to the Basement
2021 | UK | 6 min
DIRECTED BY SWEATMOTHER
A Love Letter to the Basement celebrates The Chateau, an underground DIY LGBTIQA+ bar, cultural space and performance collective in South East London. What began as a three month pop-up in 2018, stretched to two years of queer performance and expression, in an ex-religious themed cocktail bar underneath Camberwell Church Street SE5.
The film was built on the memories of those who experienced it. Through voiceover, archival footage and photography of the many nights at The Chateau, the film shows us what the space embodied and how it housed the queer community of South East London.”
SHAKEDOWN
2018 | USA | 82 MIN
WRITER & DIRECTOR LEILAH WEINRAUB
SHAKEDOWN is the story of Los Angeles’ black lesbian strip club scene and its genesis. Owned and operated by women, underground and illegal in nature, the club Shakedown is the darker, faster, younger iteration of this dance culture. The film is a window into this world. Shakedown emerged from a post-RIOTS, post-OJ, post-integration but still very racially divided Los Angeles. In this divided city Shakedown is an independent, all black and all female cash economy.
SHAKEDOWN chronicles the explicit performances and personal relationships of the party’s dancers and organizers including Ronnie-Ron, Shakedown Productions’ creator and emcee; Mahogany, the legendary “mother” of the community; Egypt, their star performer; and Jazmine, the “Queen” of Shakedown.