London-based filmmaker and artist Stephen Isaac-Wilson creates exquisite, intimate works that centre marginalised communities on screen. “I have a desire to reimagine and devise alternative realities for black and queer people, and also to subvert what and who we consider ‘cool’ and ‘beautiful’,” he says. His work has been shown at the Barbican, Serpentine, and the Tate Britain, where his film Day Dream, an intimate portrayal of love, desire, and intimacy, was created in response to, and screened at, the Queer British Art 1861-1967 exhibition.
Isaac-Wilson’s work seeks to create space for those who have felt social isolation after being underrepresented in the mainstream. His desire to capture creativity, connection and sensuality finds its full expression in Fleshback: Queer Raving in Manchester’s Twilight Zone, a kaleidoscopic celebration of “homos, heteros, lesbos, and don’t knows” who have created their own scene from the 1980s to the present day.
Whether working with musicians, including Sampha, Jorja Smith, Mykki Blanco, Ms Boogie, and Klein, author Hilton Als, or actor Zawe Ashton, Isaac-Wilson creates works of visual poetry, combining a gift for narrative storytelling with a keen sensitivity to the evocative power of film. He is a BAFTA / BFI Flare mentee, and is currently working on longer-form projects exploring the stories of LGBTQ+ community today.
Miss Rosen