Obsessed with Light

Loïe Fuller may not be a household name these days, but nearly a century after her death she’s still shaping popular culture, inspiring artists like Taylor Swift, Shakira, Bill T Jones and William Kentridge. A midwesterner who got her start performing with Buffalo Bill, Fuller became world famous as an innovative dancer — an improbable turn of events given her lack of training, her stature and physique. Inventor of the Serpentine Dance, Fuller combined fabric, movement and light to create magical spectacles the likes of which had never been seen before. This is the advent of modern dance and theatrical lighting techniques — techniques Fuller was quick to copyright. Queer and unabashed about her body type, she became the toast of Paris, her adopted home; Cocteau, Rodin, Georges Melies and Toulouse Lautrec were among her many admirers. This is one of the loveliest and liveliest arts documentaries of the year, a rare delight.

[A] glorious film filled with wondrous things… knocked my socks off….

Unseen Films