Strike a Pose

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For her ‘Blond Ambition’ tour in 1990, pop superstar Madonna was looking for performers who knew how to vogue. Out of countless hopefuls, the gay dancers Salim, Kevin, Carlton, José, Luis and Gabriel were chosen along with breakdancer Oliver, the only straight guy. The tour was accompanied by a film crew and Madonna cast herself in the role of mother figure of her stage family. The boys soon found fans among homosexual youths who saw them as role models, while the tour came to epitomise Madonna’s commitment to gay liberation and the acknowledgement of AIDS. But the idyll fell apart when Gabriel, Kevin and Oliver sued against their involuntary outing as gay men brought about by the film In Bed with Madonna. In 1995 Gabriel died of AIDS-related illness, while the others continued to pursue their professional careers. Now, twenty-five years after their time together, the six surviving performers are reunited and long-buried secrets are aired. The filmmakers excel at telling the stories of these very different dancers whilst carefully calling into question the official version of events in order to edge closer to the truth.

details

  • Runtime

    83 min
  • Country

    Netherlands, Belgium
  • Year of Presentation

    2016
  • Year of Production

    2016
  • Director

    Ester Gould, Reijer Zwaan
  • Cast

  • Production Company

    CTM Docs
  • Berlinale Section

    Panorama
  • Berlinale Category

Biography Ester Gould

Born in Scotland, UK in 1975, she studied journalism and film in Amsterdam and New York. Her debut feature documentary SHOUT (co-directed by Sabine Lubbe Bakker) won the prize for Best Film at the London International Documentary Film Festival in 2010.

Filmography Ester Gould

2005 Adrenaline | 2007 50 Cents | 2007 Soy Optimista | 2008 Sick of it All | 2009 Still Going Strong | 2010 Starring David | 2010 Shout | 2012 Cathleen's Turn | 2013 Tough Cookies | 2015 A Strange Love Affair With Ego

Biography Reijer Zwaan

Born in Amsterdam, the Netherlands in 1981, he studied acting at
the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute in New York and then politics in Amsterdam and New York. He is deputy editor-in-chief for 'Nieuwsuur' (Newshour), the main current affairs programme in the Netherlands.