I will be playing the role of Orlando (My Political Biography)

Orlando, My Political Biography is a documentary-of-sorts, exploring Virginia Woolf’s Orlando through interviews with transgender folks and narration from Preciado in the form of a letter to Virginia Woolf. Each of the 26 subjects introduces themselves as “playing the role of Orlando,” Orlando becoming a stand-in for transgender subjectivity. As Preciado is Orlando, so is he, so is she, so are they. The title of the film is instructive: it is Preciado’s “political biography”–not an autobiography, but a tapestry of trans experiences united under the concept of Orlando.

AFS Cinema, Analysis, Reviewsremus jacksonJuly 8, 2025Comment

Passion and Risk in Club Med with Bay of Angels and Boom!

In this first edition of Hyperreal’s two-part coverage, we look at the first two films of the series, Bay of Angels and Boom!, and how these films populate the cinematic Mediterranean.

Reviews, AFS CinemaDylan SamuelJune 26, 2025Bay of Angels, Club Med, Boom!, Mediterranean, AFS, Austin Film SocietyComment

What We’re Watching at AFS Doc Days

Each year, Austin Film Society brings the best of nonfiction cinema from across the world to our city for the annual Doc Days film festival.

Aspen and Model: Zooming Out to Zoom In

Wiseman’s directorial method is never clearer than with Aspen (1991) and Model (1981), the final two installments in AFS’ “Frederick Wiseman: Eight Systems” series.

Foxfire Director Annette Haywood-Carter on the Film's Legacy

In honor of Foxfire's screening as part of Austin Film Society’s Girls To the Front series, which Hyperreal Film Club partnered on, we sat down with director Annette Haywood-Carter to discuss the film’s journey from forgotten gem to feminist cult classic.

AFS Cinema, InterviewsJessica BuieOctober 17, 2024firefox, interview, annette haywood-carter, Angelina JolieComment

Central Park and Canal Zone: The Art of Sound Editing and Audiovisual Storytelling

Central Park (1989) and Canal Zone (1977), point especially to his knack for keen sound design and editing. Both restorations demonstrate Frederick Wiseman’s deliberate choices for aural transitions and building an immersive and rich soundscape that helps fill out the impressive scope of both projects.

The Store and Law and Order: Making the Mundane Extraordinary

Frederick Wiseman's documentaries The Store and Law and Order highlight different stages of sociopolitical change, through plainly depicting his subjects with as little interpretive framework as possible.

Hyperreal Film Journal