variety.com
24.05.2023 / 14:59
Kenneth Anger, Experimental Filmmaker and ‘Hollywood Babylon’ Author, Dies at 96
Ethan Shanfeld Experimental filmmaker, artist and author Kenneth Anger has died. He was 96. His gallery, operated by Monika Sprüth and Philomene Magers, confirmed the news on their website, writing, “Kenneth was a trailblazer. His cinematic genius and influence will live on and continue to transform all those who encounter his films, words and vision.” Anger produced over 30 short films from 1937 to 2013, having made his first movie at 10 years old. Known as “one of America’s first openly gay filmmakers,” he gained a reputation for exploring themes of erotica and homosexuality decades before gay sex was legalized in America. Anger received recognition for his homoerotic 1947 film “Fireworks,” which landed him in court on obscenity charges. Filmed in his childhood home in Beverly Hills, Calif., while his parents were away for the weekend, “Fireworks” is known as the first gay narrative film produced in the U.S.