Thursday, February 15, 8:30 p.m. | In the final film before his untimely death, QUERELLE finds Fassbinder pushing his embrace of artifice and taboo-shattering depictions of queer desire to new extremes. Against an expressionistic soundstage backdrop of a French seaport, Fassbinder daringly adapts Jean Genet's novel Querelle of Brest into the tragedy of a handsome sailor as he is drawn into a vortex of sibling rivalry, murder, and explosive sexuality. A deliriously stylized tale of hothouse lust and simmering violence, QUERELLE is a lurid cult classic that showcases Fassbinder's primal and audacious point of view.

Awards & Nominations

Nominee - Golden Lion, Venice Film Festival
Nominee - Worst Original Song, Razzie Awards

Hot & Heavy: Leave your inhibitions at the door and unclutch your pearls: the Film Center’s screens are sizzling with the 10 sexually liberated films of Hot & Heavy. A carnal exploration of desire, passion, and physical dexterity, Hot & Heavy encourages audiences to indulge in the erotic—not as forbidden fruit, but in a celebratory embrace of what turns us on in a safe space that respectfully recognizes the cinematic power of all things bodily bawdy. Content consideration: these films contain explicit sexual content (obviously). View full series.

Complimentary goodies at every screening thanks to our friends at

The Film Center is ADA accessible. This presentation will be projected without open captions. The theater is hearing-loop equipped. For accessibility requests, please email filmcenter@saic.edu