Experiencing Interruptions?

Lulu's Journal

This video-poem projects my own thoughts and feelings musing in the voice of my mother to tell parts of her previously untold story. I imaged her writing in a journal while being institutionalized for being a young, depressed lesbian at Chicago-Read Mental Health Center when she was a teenager. Through a collection of episodic journal entries and poetic investigations, the voice of the young artist Amanda Cervantes reenacts the queer, Latina youth of Lourdes Benavides or Lulu, my mother. Rather than embody her they reflect a psychic space and interiority; the private place of reflection and consciousness muted by the institution and the insidious powers of homophobic and patriarchal Western culture.

Credits:
Written and Directed by Jose Luis Benavides
Performance by Amanda Cervantes

  • Jose Luis Benavides
    Director
    Lulu en el Jardin
  • Jose Luis Benavides
    Writer
  • Amanda Cervantes
    Key Cast
    "Voice"
  • Project Type:
    Experimental, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    video poetry
  • Runtime:
    4 minutes 31 seconds
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes
  • Onion City
    Chicago
    United States
    June 27, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Revolutions Per Minute Festival. RPM Fest - University of Massachusetts
    Boston
    United States
    February 2, 2020
    Official Selection
  • Cadence - Video Poetry Festival
    Seattle
    United States
    April 11, 2019
    West Coast Premiere
    Official Selection
  • Queer Moving Image Review

    United States
    December 1, 2018
    Featured Artist - December, Month long screening
  • Terremoto - La Postal
    Mexico City
    Mexico
    August 24, 2018
    Latin American
    Solo Show - two month exhibit
  • Works for the Screen: UIC MFA Show, The Nightingale
    Chicago
    United States
    March 29, 2017
  • Adaptations for the Understudy: UIC MFA Exhibition, Gallery 400
    Chicago
    United States
    March 14, 2017
Director Biography - Jose Luis Benavides

Jose Luis Benavides was born in Chicago, USA 1986. His video art was recently screened at the Museum of Contemporary Art Alfredo Zalce, Morelia, MX; the Bernardo Quintana Art Center, MX; and the Art Museum of Tlaxcala, MX as part of the international festival of video and performance Homography | Homography (2018). He had his first solo show at Terremoto, La Postal, Mexico City (2018). His first feature documentary was an official selection of Collected Voices: ethnographic film festival, Chicago, US (2018); and CinHomo: LGBTQI film festival, Valladolid, Spain (2019). His video work has also exhibited at Qalandiya International, Ramallah, PL (2018); and at the Logan Center for the Arts - Screen Share Gallery, Chicago, US (2018). His videos have been presented on various online media such as Video Video Zine, US (2015); Gothic Angle, UK (2016); and Queer Moving Image Review, US (2018).

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