Canadian global art icon and provocateur Bruce LaBruce burst onto the international scene in 1992 with the debut of his first feature film, No Skin Off My Ass, at the London Film Festival. A bold tribute to the independent cinema of the 1970s and the homoeroticism of skinhead punk culture, the film solidified LaBruce’s place as a key figure in the emergence of “New Queer Cinema.” His early super-8 shorts, alongside his JDs fanzines, helped ignite the “Queercore” movement.
He went on to create films like Super 81/2, Hustler White, L.A. Zombie, Otto or Up with Dead People, Gerontophila, Saint-Narcisse, The Misandrists, and his latest work, The Visitor, all of which push the boundaries of art, pornography, and genre.
LaBruce’s art is defined by radical transgression, intellectual rigour, and a fearless wit, drawing on his deep knowledge of cinema, political philosophy, and feminism. Like his influences Fassbinder, Pasolini, and Warhol, he has never shied away from the exploration of taboo subjects—sexual repression, homophobia, Islamophobia, racism, and classism—with sharp humour and bold panache.
With a remarkable body of work—including 15 features, 14 shorts, international photography exhibitions, and a fixture on the international film festival circuit with screenings and retrospectives, from Busan to Buenos Aires, Berlin, Cannes, Venice and Sundance —LaBruce’s influence spans continents. His documentaries for French and German TV featuring Gaspar Noé and Harmony Korine, legendary live and published dialogues with John Waters, Karl Lagerfeld and Andy Warhol superstar Joe Dallesandro, along with a major retrospective at MoMA, two autobiographical books, and 5 imprints and monographs of his photographic work, solidify his place in both cinematic and cultural history.
Now, LaBruce is finally receiving the recognition he deserves in his home country of Canada, where he has been named a recipient of the prestigious Governor General’s Award in Visual and Media Arts (GGArts), the highest honour for Canadian artists. Not bad for a farm boy from Tiverton, in Bruce County (yes, “Bruce” County), Ontario.
-Written by KJ Carter
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Which ‘hood are you in?
The Annex!
What do you do?
I am a filmmaker, photographer, writer, and artist, I suppose!
What are you currently working on?
I currently have at least four feature films in various stages of development, a theatre project in progress, and recently exhibited work at Bonny Poon Conditions Gallery in Toronto.
Where can we find your work?
Everywhere, and nowhere! Some of my movies are so underground, you really have to dig for them. My more “mainstream” movies stream on platforms like Amazon Prime and Apple TV. I also have four books of photography available from Baron Books in the UK.
