__notoc__
The Cinema of Transgression is a term coined by
Nick Zedd in 1985 to describe a
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
–based
underground film movement, consisting of a loose-knit group of artists using
shock value and
black humor in their films. Key players in this movement were Zedd,
Kembra Pfahler,
Tessa Hughes-Freeland,
Casandra Stark,
Beth B, Tommy Turner,
Jon Moritsugu,
Manuel DeLanda,
David Wojnarowicz,
Richard Kern, and
Lydia Lunch, who in the late 1970s and mid-1980s began to make
very low-budget films using cheap 8 mm cameras.
Zedd outlined his
philosophy
Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
on the Cinema of Transgression in ''The Cinema of Transgression Manifesto'', published under the name Orion Jeriko in the
zine ''The Underground Film Bulletin'' (1984–90).
Cinema of Transgression continues to heavily influence underground filmmakers. In 2000, the
British Film Institute showed a retrospective of the movement's work introduced by those involved in the production of the original video films.
List of notable films
*''Why Do You Exist'' (
Nick Zedd, 1998)
*''You Killed Me First'' (
Richard Kern, 1985)
*''Where Evil Dwells'' (
David Wojnarowicz and Tommy Turner, 1985)
*''Raw Nerves: A Lacanian Thriller'' (
Manuel DeLanda, 1980)
*''Mommy, Mommy, Where's My Brain?'' (
Jon Moritsugu, 1986)
*''Llik Your Idols'' (Angélique Bosio, 2007)
*''Wrecked on Cannibal Island'' (
Casandra Stark, 1986)
*''Stigmata'' (
Beth B., 1991)
*''Blank City'' (Celine Danhier, 2009)
*''Nymphomania'' (
Tessa Hughes-Freeland and Holly Adams, 1993)
MUBI
Nymphomania, Tessa Hughes-Freeland and Holly Adams
*''Tromeo and Juliet
''Tromeo and Juliet'' is a 1996 American independent transgressive romantic black comedy film and a loose adaptation of William Shakespeare's '' Romeo & Juliet'' from Troma Entertainment. The film was directed by Lloyd Kaufman from a screenp ...
'' (Lloyd Kaufman
Stanley Lloyd Kaufman Jr. (born December 30, 1945) is an American film director, screenwriter, producer and actor. Alongside producer Michael Herz, he is the co-founder of Troma Entertainment film studio, and the director of many of their featu ...
, 1996)
*''İlker Canikligil'i Kurtarmak'' (Deep Turkish Web, 2025)
See also
* Cinema of the world
* No Wave Cinema
* Transgressive art
Transgressive art is art that aims to outrage or cause a reaction from the observer. The term ''transgressive'' was first used in this sense by American filmmaker Nick Zedd and his Cinema of Transgression in 1985. Zedd used it to describe his leg ...
* Extreme cinema
* Vulgar auteurism
Notes
References
*
External links
Films from the Cinema of Transgression
at UbuWeb.
*
{{film genres
Movements in American cinema
Underground culture
1980s in film
1990s in film
2000s in film