BERLIN — Acclaimed cult director and pornographer Bruce LaBruce’s new film, “The Visitor,” starring queer alt-porn actor and dancer Bishop Black, premiered Feb. 17 at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival, also known as the Berlinale.
The festival website described “The Visitor” as a reimagining of Pier Paolo Pasolini’s 1968 Italian classic, “Teorema,” but relocated to the U.K.
In LaBruce’s version, “the visitor” (Bishop Black) is a refugee who washes up in a small suitcase on the banks of London’s Thames.
“Dressed in the guise of a homeless man, he arrives at the house of an upper-class family and gets to know the maid,” the synopsis reveals. “When she passes him off as her nephew, the family invites him to also work for them as a live-in servant. The guest makes love with each of the residents of the house one after the other, depicted in explicit sex scenes. Each member of the household experiences a radical sexual and spiritual transformation.”
Produced by A/Political, the film co-stars Macklin Kowal, Amy Kingsmill, Kurtis Lincoln and Ray Filar, and was written by LaBruce, Alex Babboni and Victor Fraga.
LaBruce has had a noted career as a director in both the art house circuit and the adult industry, with 14 feature films to his credit, many featuring hardcore content and some available in differently-edited “art” and “porn” versions.
LaBruce has been shooting since 1987, and had his first international hit in 1996 with “Hustler White.” His 2013 film “Gerontophilia” won the Grand Prix at the 2013 Festival du Nouveau Cinéma in Montreal. In 2022, LaBruce was tapped by Lust Cinema to direct “The Affairs of Lidia” starring Skye Blue.
Bishop Black is an alternative adult actor, dancer, singer and performance artist who creates works about gender, sex and queerness, and subverts mainstream representations of Black masculinity.
“The Visitor” will premiere worldwide later this year.
