A Body to Live In is an intimate inquiry into the life and work of Fakir Musafar, an influential figure in the queer body-modification community. The film explores his outsized impact and the formation of the “Modern Primitive” movement through decades of archives and interviews with those close to him. Creative treatment of the archives presents them as living texts—photos and video are layered, inverted, and interpolated to bring them new meaning and texture. Angelo Madsen’s sophomore feature is supplemented by seamlessly interwoven personal accounts to craft an portrayal that is loving yet not afraid of critique, embracing both the joy of self-discovery as well as the complex spirituality Musafar came to represent. Through his life and work, the film gives rise to profound questions of bodily autonomy and the body’s relationship to our sense of self.
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