Gustavo Gomes's project "Manhandle" delves into the intricate landscapes of sexual violence against men, blending mythology with interviews with survivors and social workers. Pushing the boundaries between reality and perception, and probing the depths of human emotion and resilience, Gomes's ongoing project utilizes real interviews from male survivors of sexual violence and data collected from institutions such as AIDSHilfe, Centre for Victims of Violence Against Men, Rubicon, and STI Centers. Through visual languages inspired by 1980s video games, Camp, and artifice, the project "Manhandle" constructs a protective performative veil around dancing bodies in order to address trauma, guilt, and shame as a tool for survivors to use theatrics as a toolof healing.
Through different collaborations, such as Forecast Berlin, A Casa do Povo in São Paulo, psychologists at Charité and Schauspiel Köln. Gomes had the chance to meet different male victims who were willing to speak about their traumas and perform to the camera. From these collaborations the 35 minutes docufiction film “Manhandle'' alongside the 20 minutes sketch dance performance “Blue Shoe - Theater of Apophenia” was made ( https://vimeo.com/855960795?share=copy )
The ongoing project confronts themes of desire and guilt, weaving a narrative that traverses the treacherous terrains of trauma and the search for connection. Gomes sheds light on often silenced and hidden histories of exploitation, striving to transform private pain into a collective experience of healing and transcendence. The project's exploration of toxicity revisits the notion of 'home' as a place fraught with inherent danger, employing various allegories to symbolize the dual forces of life and destruction, with performers using their bodies to express their personal experiences and those gathered during his research.
Challenging conventional theatrical norms, "Manhandle" scrutinizes fixed notions of love and fidelity by exploring the intricate dynamics of romantic and erotic relationships that victims of sexual violence carry in their adult lives, while delving into complex emotions such as recalling trauma with conflicting feelings.
By fusing the aesthetics of digital and performance art, "Manhandle" aims to reach a new paradigm in depicting and understanding male vulnerability and trauma.
Written and directed by Gustavo Gomes
Artistic Supervision by Roee Rosen
With Killian Löderbusch, Leandro Berton, Michael Oestenrath, Joao Pedro de Paula
Filmed by Haris Ajrulahi and Anna Júlia Santos
Edited by Max Lomberg
Music by Ulysse Zangs
Costumes by Gustavo Gomes, Sarah Aphrodite, Michael Ostenrath, Lucie Hedderiich
Photos by Nathan Ishar
Lights by Anastacia Hansen
Supported by the mentorship program FORECAST, A case do povo, Brazilian Embassy in Berlin, Intsituto Guimaraes Rosa