Safer Sexual Techniques in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction1988

This is the first film ever made by Michelle Handelman. Shot on four rolls of 16mm, and inspired by structuralist filmmaking, Handelman created this surreal impression of safe sex during the AIDS crisis, working from the premise that there is no such thing as safe sex. The film is designed as an arcane storybook with each sexual act being contained within a 100 ft.-roll of film. Each roll contains layers of sexual illusion amid subliminal messages created by in-camera effects. The soundtrack starts from a single cat's purr and is manipulated with each sexual act, speeding up to its climax over the duration of the film.