Pixelated Lesbian Mixtape: Azian Nurudin’s Wicked Times (1986-1999)
Azian Nurudin is someone I worked with in San Francisco in my grad student days and beyond. Her work was recently celebrated in the Queer East Film Festival 2026 with a screening of videos, some of which I worked on, and all of which I love and am indebted to for their absolute non-apologetic bravery and intelligence. Thanks, Azian!
I wrote a brief essay about Azian’s work for the Queer East catalogue, which I have published below:
“I believe Azian Nurudin’s video work from the 1980s and ‘90s provides possible solutions to the global disasters wrought by late-stage patriarchy, such as those we are currently experiencing. Her content shifts the center of the then-current feminist discussions about colonialism, sex, justice, human rights – discussions that radiated ideology – to expressions of refusal and rage. Azian gives us the beauty of the experimental form in pieces such as Sinar Durjana (Wicked Radiance) (1991), and Bitter Strength: Sadistic Response Version (1992). In Malaysian Series 1-6, the performance of rage shifts the central argument vigorously from personal to geo-political, providing a visceral response to colonialism and the patriarchal death-wish.
“Those of us working in video together in San Francisco were creating a cohesive movement of feminist and queer experimental video without quite realizing the singularity of the moment. We shared equipment, cast members, and crew. Leslie Singer had a VHS camcorder that could turn out special effects and generate titles; Azian and I shared a Fisher-Price pixelvision camcorder that we purchased together for about $95. I did camera for Nancy’s Nightmare (1989) and What Do Pop Art, Pop Music, Pornography and Politics Have To Do With Real Life? (1990). And when I was making my own video Grapefruit (1989) about Yoko Ono, Azian agreed to play George Harrison. She insisted, however, on wearing sunglasses in every scene, weaving a new thread of visual humor into the piece.
“Azian’s work is raw as well as sophisticated, immediate as well as reflecting experience and contemplation. Process, community, performance in conjunction, clicking into place.”
Cecilia Dougherty
College of Staten Island CUNY Film Festival 2026
Just a few photos from the May 2026 CSI Film Festival. The festival showed 13 films by students in the Video Editing, Cinematography, Non-Linear, Thesis, and Workshop classes. The work at this year’s festival showed a lot of ingenuity, hard work, thoughtfulness, and some crazy (yet well-produced) fun. Many of my students in this festival – happy to have these great photos of them!
