Maria Beatty
Biography
Maria Beatty is a New York filmmaker who directs, acts, and produces. Her films are often made in black and white, have high production values, and cover various aspects of female sexuality including BDSM and fetishism. She sometimes stars in her own films, such as The Elegant Spanking (1995) and the The Black Glove (1997).Maria Beatty is also interviewed in the 1996 Nick Broomfield documentary Fetishes. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maria_Beatty [Apr 2005]
The Elegant Spanking (1995) - Maria Beatty
Not for the sexually squeamish, this black-and-white porn (for lack of a better word) film -- sort of a lesbian version of a Jean Genet scenario -- features performance artist Rosemary Delain as "The Mistress" who sexually dominates, humiliates and satiates her submissive maid Kitty (independent filmmaker Maria Beatty). A silent film accompanied by music by John Zorn, the sensual tale includes gentle spanking, graphic lovemaking and a memorable scene involving water sports (bedroom cocktails?) Not for straight men or the faint of heart.
Maria Beatty: I decided to ask John Zorn to compose the soundtrack for The Elegant Spanking because cinema has always been a central element in Zorn's life and work. The most important thing for Zorn is doing a soundtrack work is creative freedom. His musical composition for The Elegant Spanking was based on trust and his personal interest in S/M and the perverse. It was a natural bonding and understanding of perversion and instinctively we were on the same wavelength. I never doubted Zorn's creative decisions and gave him the freedom to compose directly to the sequence of images. I suggested a more classical, romantic, and subtle approach to the track with harp/cello/viola/percussion but I never interfered or supervised the composition. It was based on trust. I was VERY pleased with the final soundtrack by Zorn but unfortunately my collaborator/mistress (at the time)/and co-star Goddess Rosemary was opposed to Zorn's style and composition. Rosemary created her own soundtrack that included solo piano (similar to piano performed live to silent b&w film -- ala silent film era). I felt her soundtrack was unsophisticated and dominated the images -- rather than complimenting and supporting the flow of the choreography of the piece. I went with Zorn's soundtrack on my final cut, and Rosemary went with her piano creation. This type of decision making was not uncommon during our relationship and creative collaborations together. It was either her way or no way. If I fought for my way then I was no longer considered a sweet submissive slave but rather a controlling from the top masochist. --- http://www.bleuproductions.com/interview2.html
Fetishes (1996) - Nick Broomfield
Fetishes (1996) - Nick Broomfield [Amazon.com]
Fetishes is a 1996 documentry by Nick Broomfield filmed at Pandora's Box, one of New York City's most luxurious SM/fetish parlours. The film contains interviews with professional dominatrices and their clients including the New York filmmaker Maria Beatty.
The documentary opens with black and white footage from an Irving Klaw film depicting models including Bettie Page wearing fetish attire. Nick Broomfield and his film crew then arrive at Pandora's Box on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue and are given a tour of the facility by Mistress Raven, including the dungeon and the medical room. The rest of the documentary consists of the following eight chapters:
- Slaves
- Mistresses
- Rubber fetish
- Wrestling fetish
- Corporal punishment
- Masochism
- Infantilism
- Socio-political fetishes
The film was produced in the United Kingdom, and was originally made for HBO. It was released in the United States on DVD (runtime 84 minutes, filmed in colour), and more recently as part of Nick Broomfield's 'Documenting Icons' box set. A full, uncut version with additional archive material is also available in the UK. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetishes_%28documentary%29 [Apr 2005]
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