Meeting Two Narcissi

Patpong Narcissus
Oat Montien, Thailand 2023, 27 min. No dialogue

Pink Narcissus
James Bidgood, USA 1971, 65 min. No dialogue

Newly restored in 4K by the UCLA Film & Television Archive and Frameline, Pink Narcissus is a landmark of the American queer cinema canon that has inspired generations of filmmakers worldwide. The film follows the dreamlike visions of a male sex worker in Manhattan who imagines himself in elaborate mythological scenarios, falling in love with others and with himself.

Artist Oat Montien, Tom of Finland’s first Southeast Asian resident artist, created a companion work, Patpong Narcissus, relocating this figure to Bangkok’s Patpong district, long associated with nightlife and sex work, particularly since the American military presence in Thailand. Together, these works reflect the dreams of gay sex workers—once imagined in Manhattan, later reimagined in Patpong—shaped by desire, longing, and the pull between self-creation and self-destruction. (Sarnt Utamachote)