Orlando, My Political Biography

Essayist, transtheorist Paul B. Preciado (Testo Junkie 2008/2022) won the Teddy Award for Best Documentary and the Special Prize in the Encounters category at the Berlin Film Festival with his debut film. His film Orlando blends autofiction and auto-theory, offering a critical yet celebratory reading of Virginia Woolf's "Orlando" (1928). The protagonist of Woolf's novel lives for several centuries, first as a man and then as a woman. Preciado does not settle for this binary representation but seeks "collisions of identity." He brings into focus a whole group of other Orlandos, as the contemporary world is filled with Orlandos who not only shape their own lives but also the surrounding reality. In addition to encountering various Orlandos, the film also introduces Orlando's dog and feminist writer Virginie Despentes, who serves as a liberating judge.

Tytti Rantanen