FRESH KILL

directed by Shu Lea Cheang

1994, U.S./UK, 80m, 35mm

Los Angeles premiere of a brand-new 35mm print courtesy of the filmmaker – 30th anniversary!

With Shu Lea Cheang in person for a Q&A

Co-presented by Mezzanine + Dirty Looks

Among the most inventive debut films of the 1990s, Shu Lea Cheang’s one-of-a-kind queer cyberpunk eco-thriller is a hilarious and bracing blend of sex and capitalist critique – as much an evergreen state-of-the-union address as Born in Flames was for the ‘80s. Claire (Erin McMurtry) and Shareen (Sarita Choudhury), a young lesbian couple living in Staten Island, discover that their daughter has been fed sushi contaminated by the local landfill, leading them to uncover (and fight against) a global corporate conspiracy. A noted influence on ‘90s hacker subcultures, Fresh Kill’s rapid-fire vision of multiculturalism, greenwashing and incessant consumerism – intercut with garish television ads reflecting the era’s ever-commodified media landscape – makes it a truly prophetic work of New Queer Cinema that deserves reappraisal. We are thrilled to host this screening of a new 35mm print of the film as part of its U.S. roadshow!

Official Selection: Toronto International Film Festival, Berlin International Film Festival, 1994. Rotterdam International Film Festival, 2024.

“Part formalist satire, part melodrama, part neon-colored capitalist critique…[A] one-of-a-kind Marxist feminist camp eco-horror.” -Dana Reinoos, Screen Slate

“Rather than try to rationalize capitalism and imperialism, Fresh Kill meets its absurdity with glitches, formal and conceptual interruptions in the film and by extension the world as we know it. Cheang’s film is here to hack the communication system and tell you what it means to live.” -Ayanna Dozier, The Brooklyn Rail