Seriously Factual
Documentaries are moving online! Journeyman is one of the world's leading doc distributors and we're offering you a chance to see the best documentaries before anyone else! Every week we have fresh new titles, often direct from the cutting room. Its so easy - click on a film and watch.Related
-
The AgonyJourneyman"Pedro has been a heroin addict since he was 17." -
Rikers HighJourneyman"Young.Talented.Imprisoned."
-
Wasting AwayJourneyman"Theyre all here at the adolescent eating disorders unit at Sydneys Westmead Hospital because theyve been ."
-
Beating the Black DogJourneyman"Good-looking Kate O’Connor had it all. ‘She was a real all-rounder’, recalls best friend Felicity Dwyer."
-
Heaven Inside UsJourneyman"“I’m making a movie about my mom because she’s special”, states Ina Roll Spinnangr."
Featured
-
Iraq's Secret War FilesJourneyman"The only TV doc to have advance access to the biggest Wikileaks release ever. This is what really happened during the Iraq war, not what the US PR machine of the time wanted us to believe. The reality behind the civilian death count; al-Qaedas fictitious"
-
BoardheadsJourneyman"Board sports define the tough, trendy, wild young kids who dice with death as they wow and surprise. But theres another side to the too cool for school boarding frenzy. Its about autistic children taking to surf boards, skateboards bringing sport and"
-
Off the Grid: Life on the MesaJourneyman"Twenty-Five miles from town, a million miles from mainstream society, a loose-knit community of eco-pioneers, teenage runaways, war veterans and drop-outs, live on the fringe and off the grid."
Begging NakedLength: 72mins
Published: 24 Jun, 2010
Last Updated: 5 Nov, 2011
"I used to paint naked in this room. It wasn't anything religious, it was just hot", quips Elise, with her characteristic wit and confidence. Elise saw energy and life in the neon lights of New York's sex district. And though it may not be everyone's pretty picture, Elise was never happier than in this cramped New York airshaft, surrounded by vivid paintings of her life as a stripper and a prostitute. Soon she would find herself undesirable, half-mad, and plunged into homelessness: "Oh my God, I have nothing!".
On the boat to Manhattan, watching the island of opportunity draw ever nearer, a fifteen year old Elise already knows how to put a brave face on things. "After your father looks you in the face and says he's going to kill you, nothing can scare you". She styled herself after the 'happy hooker' and used her earnings to put herself through art school. The paintings of her first exhibition were all straight from the strip show, and the message was an affront: "I enjoy dancing, I enjoy being erotic".
But eventually, those sensual portraits of strippers who "went mad", or "joined a commune", turn into grotesque imaginings. Stick-thin, and so addicted to heroin that her "teeth are about to come out", an older Elise struggles to make a living as a stripper. The light in her eyes gets dimmer, her jokes are fewer: her art is the outpouring of frenzied conspiracy theories, which she calls "good paranoia. Because everyone is out to destroy". Then the Mayor of New York turns the sex district into a deserted fairground.
"I just need my cat, and my jacket!", Elise cries as she's forced out of the door of her former home. She never thought she'd end up shivering in doorways, and wearing the same clothes for two weeks, living in Central Park. Yet she eats at soup kitchens, and jokes about the joy of "getting new socks on Tuesdays". Though she still believes the government is observing her, her art rolls over the fresh, green vistas of Central Park. "Every time I think it's all meaningless, something tells me: 'Elise, this is part of your art experience'".
"a powerful and unforgettable portrait of mental illness" - EXAMINER
"a poignant story.." - LOS ANGELES TIMES
"an amazing documentary about an extraordinary person.." - ROGER EBERT
On the boat to Manhattan, watching the island of opportunity draw ever nearer, a fifteen year old Elise already knows how to put a brave face on things. "After your father looks you in the face and says he's going to kill you, nothing can scare you". She styled herself after the 'happy hooker' and used her earnings to put herself through art school. The paintings of her first exhibition were all straight from the strip show, and the message was an affront: "I enjoy dancing, I enjoy being erotic".
But eventually, those sensual portraits of strippers who "went mad", or "joined a commune", turn into grotesque imaginings. Stick-thin, and so addicted to heroin that her "teeth are about to come out", an older Elise struggles to make a living as a stripper. The light in her eyes gets dimmer, her jokes are fewer: her art is the outpouring of frenzied conspiracy theories, which she calls "good paranoia. Because everyone is out to destroy". Then the Mayor of New York turns the sex district into a deserted fairground.
"I just need my cat, and my jacket!", Elise cries as she's forced out of the door of her former home. She never thought she'd end up shivering in doorways, and wearing the same clothes for two weeks, living in Central Park. Yet she eats at soup kitchens, and jokes about the joy of "getting new socks on Tuesdays". Though she still believes the government is observing her, her art rolls over the fresh, green vistas of Central Park. "Every time I think it's all meaningless, something tells me: 'Elise, this is part of your art experience'".
"a powerful and unforgettable portrait of mental illness" - EXAMINER
"a poignant story.." - LOS ANGELES TIMES
"an amazing documentary about an extraordinary person.." - ROGER EBERT
Comments