Andy Warhol's The Life of Juanita Castro (1965)

The Life of Juanita Castro
(Andy Warhol, 1965, USA, 16mm, 66 min)

Camp, historical topicality, New York’s underground theater scene, and Warhol’s disarming and energizing anti-cinema approach to filmmaking all combine in this loosely-scripted, irreverent portrait of Fidel Castro and his family (some members of which are played by experimental filmmaker Marie Menken and Warhol superstar Ultra Violet). “Theatre of the Ridiculous” playwright and director Ronald Tavel scripted the film and appears as an on-screen director, putting the performers through a series of nonsensical actions. 

Bruce Jenkins, SAIC professor and co-author of the forthcoming The Andy Warhol Film Catalogue Raisonné, will introduce the screening