Shirley Clarke: Portrait of Jason

“The most extraordinary film I’ve seen in my life.” Ingmar Bergman

On the night of 2 December 1966, director Shirley Clarke and a tiny crew convened in her hotel apartment to make a film. There, for 12 hours, they filmed the one and only Jason Holliday as he spun tales, sang, donned costumes and reminisced about good times and bad behaviour as a gay hustler, sometime houseboy and aspiring cabaret performer. The result is a mesmerising portrait of a remarkable, charming and tortured man, who is by turns hilarious and heartbreaking.

Portrait of Jason, dir. Shirley Clarke, USA 1967, 105 mins.