A close-up look at the work and technique of G. Elliott Simpson, whose haunting portraits of men covered in black paint are known for their strikingly disturbing beauty. Shot in a mixture of high definition video, 16 mm and Super 8, the work looks beyond the gloss of the artist’s stylized photography to explore the relationship that homophobia plays in shaping body image as well as the role of sex and art in transcending violence.
“Bapst’s film is brutal, harsh, confrontational and excellent… Bapst forces the viewer, gay or straight, to confront their own interpretation of what is and is not permissible, acceptable, viewable or viable… A film and a story of continuously contrasting interpretation.”
William Pierce, Examiner
“Modeled” premiered at Moviate’s Artsfest Film Festival in Harrisburg. It was also screened at the Echo Park Film Center‘s Open Screen in Los Angeles, ReelOut in Kingston, Out in the Desert in Tucson, where it won the Crystal Cactus Award for Best Experimental Film, and Desperado in Phoenix, where it tied for second place in the audience choice award for best short. Here is the Q&A from that festival. The film is also featured on IndieFlix.