When
Fri 5 Jan - Sun 14 Jan 2024
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Filmmaker Stephen Kijak turns his eye to one of the most beloved screen icons of Hollywood's golden age – and one of its biggest tragedies.
This funny, sad, meticulously researched and painstakingly detailed documentary is unmistakably real and inescapably touching.
In this intimate portrait of Rock Hudson, the actor's enduring legacy as a cinema icon is celebrated along with his role in reshaping the public perception of AIDS in 1980s America. Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed explores the story of a man living a double life — one whose public persona was carefully manufactured by his handlers and orchestrated by the studio system who feared the potential career-ending discovery that he was privately living as a gay man.
Curator's Note
Part of a career-long fascination with celebrity, director Stephen Kijak's loving tribute to Rock Hudson is a witty and devastating portrait of a man, a movie star and the Hollywood dream factory. The film's path is paved with archival footage, insights from his inner circle and clips from his films that have been recut and re-contextualised to witty effect. But it's a path that heartbreakingly intersects with the AIDS epidemic at a time when the US Government refused to acknowledge the crisis.
Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed made its world premiere at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival.
– Reece Goodwin; Film & TV Curator