Joy Boy: A Tribute to Julius Eastman

An homage to Julius Eastman (1940–1980), African American pianist, composer, homosexual – legendary for his voice and his stage presence, who died in poverty. In 1979, he wrote “Evil Nigger” and “Gay Guerrilla” for piano quartet. Joy Boy is a concert performance alternating between his music and archival recordings – visualised by a trans-national, six-headed collective in four chapters. Music and images autonomous. The compositions show his skill, the texts his attitude. Inflamed by colonial and life history, raw, radical and crystal clear, he downright hurls the words out (including the N-word – beyond all possible, necessary trigger warnings), spews them out, becomes thoughtful, quiet. Coming from a wide spectrum of theoretical and artistic practices – film, performance, dance; textile, archive, research – the directors partake in a complex collaboration, independent and collective, in solidarity with Eastman and each other. A film that packs a political punch and is beautiful to boot, especially the contact of bodies, colours and rhythms, and the choreography of the Gay Guerrilla along the highway, taking up space, threatening, vulnerable, strong.