An Evening with Tourmaline, Sasha Wortzel, and Marsha P. Johnson

Screening of “Happy Birthday, Marsha!” and artist talk with the artist, filmmaker, and activist Tourmaline, as well as the artist, filmmaker, educator, and activist Sasha Wortzel

Museum Brandhorst and FILMFEST MÜNCHEN warmly invite you to a special evening: on October 22, 2024, a screening of the film “Happy Birthday, Marsha!” by the American artists and co-directors Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel will take place in the foyer of Museum Brandhorst.

“Happy Birthday, Marsha!” (2018) is a moving celebration and evocation of the Black trans woman activist and performance artist Marsha “Pay It No Mind” Johnson (1945–1992). The short film’s story begins on Johnson’s birthday and reimagines her historical role in igniting the Stonewall Riots in New York in 1969. This event was the beginning of a pivotal moment of resistance in the history of the gay liberation movement against police violence. Johnson's dedication to this and many other political causes made her a cultural icon for the LGBTQIA+ community to this day.

Tourmaline and Wortzel’s joint work is dedicated to bringing this queer history into the present, while also serving as a poetic and political call to continue asking the vital questions of visibility, equality, and acceptance.

“We look back in order to dream a way forward.“ – Tourmaline & Sasha Wortzel

The screening will be followed by a talk between Tourmaline and Sasha Wortzel, moderated by Julia Weigl, the co-artistic director of FILMFEST MÜNCHEN and Franziska Linhardt, curator at Museum Brandhorst.

Please note: The film shown contains depictions of violence.