Weaving stunning still photographs with the voices of queer elders, Angelo Madsen‘s (2025 Creative Capital Awardee) feature film A BODY TO LIVE IN traces the communities, philosophies, and controversial histories surrounding the Body Modification movement that began with underground artist Fakir Musafar.

Upcoming Screenings:

February 27: American Cinematheque, Loz Feliz 3, Los Angeles, CA- followed by a conversation with Angelo Madsen, Andy Campbell, and Ron Athey
February 27—March 5: Screenings at Lumiere Music Hall, Los Angeles, CA
March 6—13: Screenings at Anthology Film Archives, NYC, special guests include Michelle Handelman, Jill Caside, and Matt Wolf.
March 13—19: Zeitgeist Cinema, New Orleans, LA
March 23: SPACE Gallery, Portland, Maine
March 28: Roxie Cinema, San Francisco, CA
And coming to theaters in Chicago, Seattle, Porland, and Austin, in April.

The feature film traces the life and work of legendary photographer, performer, and “Gender Flex” cultural icon, Fakir Musafar (1930-2018). Through investigating the body modification movement and the trajectory of Fakir’s art career and philosophy, A BODY TO LIVE IN uncovers a controversial and riveting facet of queer history. Using Fakir’s early experiments in body play and his photographic works from the 1940s and 50s as a springboard, the film traces the body modification movement as it emerged in LGBT subculture in the early 1970s.

Captured in static 16mm film portraits, A BODY TO LIVE IN unfolds conversationally between Fakir’s archive of 100+ hours of unseen footage, and the voices of the canonical elders of this movement, to create intergenerational dialog, question cultural responsibility, and provoke larger ideas about the drive to transcend the limits of the body.

​Featuring: Fakir Musafar, Cléo Dubois, Ron Athey, Annie Sprinkle, Jim Ward, V. Vale, Paul King, Midori, Yossie, Ganymede, Sam and Rig.

​Writer/Director/Producer/Editor: Angelo Madsen (FKA Madsen Minax)
Producers: Lyle Ravi Kash, Luka Fisher
Director of Photography: Talena Sanders
Formats: 16mm, Archival, 2K
Total Run Time: 97 minutes