Hello, my name is Justin the Klu, and I'm here today with Will Sloan, and you're listening to the

Important Cinema Club. And today, we're talking about Arthur J. Bresson. And who is this, Will?

Arthur J. Bresson Jr. was one of the pioneers of queer cinema, at least in an American context.

You know, there was once a popular perception, I think, that gay cinema history really began

in the 80s and 90s with, you know, Gus Van Sant and Todd Haynes.

Oh, the classics like, uh-oh, cruising.

I don't know about that one.

But, you know, the history of marginalized

groups is often written in the margins. And this is the case with Arthur J. Bresson Jr.

A true pioneer. But also a filmmaker that many believed may have been forgotten in the margins,

because a lot of his films were not wildly available. He has not

been written about very much. And it's only recently, thanks to places like vinegar syndrome

and the amazing work by Elizabeth Perchelle, that we've been able to discover his stuff.

There is some amazing Blu-rays that have been released of his movies,

like buddies, and also a double bill of passing strangers and forbidden letters, that finally

you can see his work the way it was meant to be seen. There's also an initiative called the Bresson

project led by his sister Roe Brescent, who has worked to restore some of the films.

We were interested in talking about him because there's a new Blu-ray that just came out via a

Vinegar Syndrome partner label called Altered Innocence that collects two of his early films,

passing strangers and forbidden letters, and a beautifully restored

double feature with a lot of extras. But wait a minute, Will, these are pornos? That is true. So Arthur

J. Bresson's career is interesting because there are sort of two movies that are the

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