In 1977, Parisian filmmaker Jacques Scandelari moved to NYC. Under the equally evocative pseudonym, Marvin Merkins, he produced a doc-style porno, New York City Inferno, which follows Jerome, a Frenchman who visits our fair city to find his lover; Paul has fallen into the teeming S&M leather scene. The world that Jerome encounters consumes him in all too many ways. New York City Inferno is a remarkable document of pre-AIDS NYC gay life, as noteworthy for its experimental aesthetics as it is for ...
In 1977, Parisian filmmaker Jacques Scandelari moved to NYC. Under the equally evocative pseudonym, Marvin Merkins, he produced a doc-style porno, New York City Inferno, which follows Jerome, a Frenchman who visits our fair city to find his lover; Paul has fallen into the teeming S&M leather scene. The world that Jerome encounters consumes him in all too many ways. New York City Inferno is a remarkable document of pre-AIDS NYC gay life, as noteworthy for its experimental aesthetics as it is for the authorized soundtrack provided by The Village People.
Marvin Merkins, New York City Inferno (aka Cock Tales), 16mm on digital video, 87 min., 1978
The screening, co-organized by Shannon Michael Cane, will be followed by DJ set by Derek & Clive (Shannon Cane + Roddy Bottum) and a special surprise performance.
Jacques Scandelari was a French filmmaker, screenwriter and producer. His second feature film, the cult-classic Beyond Love and Evil, was a loose adaptation of the Marquis de Sade’s Philosophy of the Bedroom – featuring a present-day setting and a cult of libertines set loose on an isolated mansion. He moved to New York in 1977 and made New York City Inferno, under the name Marvin Merkins, the exploitation film Flashing Lights (aka New York After Midnight; Monique), which starred Le Grande Bouffe actress, Florence Giorgetti, and Victims of Vice.
