CURZON MAYFAIR
38 Curzon Street
London W1J 7TY
Orlando is the story of a person’s journey through multiple epochs. In Sally Potter’s 1992 adaptation, Sandy Powell’s costumes are essential expression of Orlando’s gender and identity. As Orlando will remain the same person through all four centuries, clothes become a manifestation of the era’s societal constructs, which will impact Orlando’s behaviour and place in society. In perfect harmony with the costumes and the character’s evolution, his/her skin tone and many subtle details that may go unnoticed but contribute to the coherence of Swinton’s transformation.
After the screening of the film, Sally Potter, Sandy Powell and Morag Ross will be in conversation with Fashion & Cinema’s Joana Granero to talk about their work on this film.
ORLANDO
dir: Sally Potter
with Tilda Swinton, Quentin Crisp, Billy Zane, Charlotte Valandrey, Jimmy Sommerville
UK / Russia / Italy / France / Netherlands | 1992 | 90 min | cert. PG
In 1600, nobleman Orlando (Tilda Swinton) inherits his parents’ house, thanks to Queen Elizabeth I (Quentin Crisp), who commands the young man to never change. After a disastrous affair with Russian princess Sasha (Charlotte Valandrey), Orlando looks for solace in the arts before being appointed ambassador to Constantinople in 1700, where war is raging.
One morning, Orlando is shocked to wake up as a woman and returns home, struggling as a female to retain her property as the centuries roll by.
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