Learning to Be Naked, a powerful and heartrending documentary of transformation and healing through the art of burlesque, took the top prize in the documentary category at the 20th LA Femme International Film Festival, October 24-27.
Produced and directed by Susan Wolf and Machiel Amorison and written by Wolf, the film was edited by Max Vonk and features burlesque performers Dita Von Teese, Analyn Brook (Eileen Wright), Kia Puckett (Mx. Pucks A’Plenty), Annick Donckers (Loulou La Belle), Anna Paladino (Viola Panik), and Anna Smith Higgs.
“We are deeply honored to receive the Best Documentary award at the LA Femme International Film Festival. This recognition affirms our film’s mission to celebrate diversity and challenge conventional views of beauty, bodies, and empowerment through the transformative art of burlesque,” says Wolf.
“This film is a tribute to the resilience, passion, and community found in burlesque, and we are incredibly grateful to the performers who bravely shared their stories of self-acceptance and healing. We hope that this recognition will help us reach more audiences with this uplifting story, inspiring viewers to embrace their true selves and discover the joy of self-expression.
Thank you to the LA Femme International Film Festival for this incredible honor and for supporting films that amplify the voices of women.”
Learning to Be Naked seeks to dispel stereotypes about what kinds of bodies deserve to be seen and celebrated. The film follows five extraordinary and unconventional performers as burlesque strips away their shame, gently peels off their insecurities, and slowly undresses their pain, including an amputee and breast cancer survivor who proudly performs with her prosthesis and does not hide her scars, and a plus-size, Black, non-binary performer who is a fierce advocate for BIPOC and LGBTQ artists.
“LA Femme International Film Festival was extremely proud to endorse and celebrate women’s body-positive image and honor the brave performers who have contributed to a positive expression of women’s power, prowess, and sexuality,” says LA Femme Festival Director Leslie LaPage.
One featured performer, British Anna Smith Higgs, is a disabled burlesque artist who knows most people do not expect those words in the same sentence. Anna suffered a stroke at the age of 24, one month after giving birth to her son. She lost the use of her right arm and much of her vision. Through sheer determination, Anna learned to walk again. After her stroke, she was deeply depressed, but through burlesque, she has found “Joy, pure joy. It’s better than any drug,” says Anna.
“I wanted to change the way people think about the disabled,” she declares. “I want as many people as possible to see my act because it raises awareness that strokes don’t just happen to older people.”
