Born in Flames

BORN IN FLAMES and Arsenal have a lengthy shared history, taking in the premiere of the film at the Forum in 1983, numerous rentals to other cinemas and festivals since, and the premiere of the restoration in 2019. Most recently, the film was shown at the HKW Phantomkino as part of “Archive außer sich”.
BORN IN FLAMES is a feminist future vision of a America that only superficially recognizes equal rights for women even in the aftermath of a socialist cultural revolution. Angry at empty socialist promises, an army of radical women start to battle sexism and racism. Their initially non-violent crusade duly escalates when one of the movement’s leaders dies in prison under mysterious circumstances. Kathryn Bigelow appears as the editor of a feminist magazine in her only acting role to date. Anthology Film Archives restored the film with the support of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and the Film Foundation.