Rethink&Replace: JOY BOY with Collectif Faire Part

JOY BOY is a cinematic homage to the visionary composer, pianist, and activist Julius Eastman (1940–1990). With his uncompromising minimalist compositions and outspoken political position as a black, homosexual artist, Eastman grew into one of the most radical voices within contemporary music. His work is at once musically innovative, personal, and unyielding. In four chapters, each inspired by one of Eastman's compositions, Joy Boy weaves film, performance, choreography, and sound into a layered audiovisual experience. Archiefopnames van Eastmans voice connects the different parts and brings his ideas, humor, and fighting spirit back to life. The film was made by a transnational collective of six filmmakers and artists, who each formulate an answer to Eastman's legacy from their own practice. Their diverse perspectives together form a rich and polyphonic tribute to an artist who has permanently shifted the boundaries between art, politics, and identity. Joy Boy is a film about resistance and vulnerability, about collectivity and artistic freedom. A sensory experience that not only commemorates Eastman's radical legacy, but also lets it resonate further.