Turning (film)

Turning, full title Turning: A Film by Charles Atlas and Antony is a documentary musical art film made by video artist Charles Atlas in collaboration with British-American artist Anohni and her band Antony and The Johnsons.

Turning
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Charles Atlas
Produced by	Vibeke Vogel Lucy Sexton
Starring	Anohni (f.k.a. Antony Hegarty)
Music by	Antony and the Johnsons
Cinematography	Gavin Elder
Edited by	Åsa Mossberg
Distributed by	Bullitt Film, Turning Film LLC
Release date	July 2012 (2012-07) (New Horizon)[1] November 11, 2014 (2014-11-11) (DVD)[2]
Running time	78 minutes

Synopsis

The film focuses on 13 trans and cis-gendered women from NYC who appeared with Antony and the Johnsons in the band's European tour in the Autumn of 2006. During the concert, each subject rotated slowly on a turntable platform on stage, her features blown up and transfigured on a screen behind Anohni and her band Antony and The Johnsons with their elegant blend of music. Atlas incorporated the 13 personalities in the film and music through candid shots and playful banter to define his picturesque subjects on screen.[3] The concert climaxed with projections of a video of Marsha P. Johnson, the band's namesake.

The film pairs a band performance with a video backdrop of superimpositions and time-delay effects. The video uses "13 remarkable women" in the songwriter's words who stand on a revolving platform to the side of the band each with a static pose for the length of a song, staring down the camera in close-up as Charles Atlas superimposes shots from different angles and applies various camera effects.[4]

Performers

• Johanna Constantine
• Catrina Delapena
• Honey Dijon
• Eliza Douglas
• Connie Fleming
• Joey Gabriel
• Joie Iacono
• Stacey Mark
• Nomi
• Kembra Pfahler
• Morisane Sunny Shiroma
• Julia Yasuda

Musicians

• Antony - vocals, piano
• Maxim Moston - violin
• Jeff Langston - bass
• Rob Moose - guitar, violin
• Julia Kent - cello
• Parker Kindred - drums
• Thomas Bartlett - piano
• Christian Biegai - horns
• Will Holshouser - accordion

Soundtrack

Turning
Soundtrack album by Antony and the Johnsons
Released	11 November 2014
Length	76:46
Label	Secretly Canadian
Antony and the Johnsons chronology
Cut the World (2012) Turning (2014)

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	77/100[5]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Clash	6/10[7]
The Irish Times	[8]
Loud and Quiet	8/10[9]
NME	7/10[10]
Pitchfork Media	7.3/10[11]
PopMatters	8/10[12]
Record Collector	[13]
Rolling Stone	[14]
Under the Radar	[15]

The soundtrack was recorded at The Barbican Centre, London on 4–5 November 2006 with all music composed and arranged by Anohni and performed by Antony and the Johnsons. It was officially released on 11 November 2014 on Secretly Canadian record label.

All tracks are written by Antony and the Johnsons.

Turning

No.	Title	Original album	Length
1.	"Everything Is New"	Swanlights	4:49
2.	"My Lord My Love"	Thank You for Your Love (EP)	3:18
3.	"Cripple and the Starfish"	Antony and the Johnsons	5:15
4.	"For Today I Am a Boy"	I Am a Bird Now	3:32
5.	"Where Is My Power?"	Epilepsy Is Dancing (single)	5:31
6.	"Spiralling"	I Am a Bird Now	3:57
7.	"Find the Rhythm of Your Love"	Swanlights (EP)	6:02
8.	"I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy"	I Fell in Love with a Dead Boy (EP)	4:28
9.	"Bird Gerhl"	I Am a Bird Now	3:22
10.	"Kiss My Name"	The Crying Light	4:09
11.	"Daylight and the Sun"	The Crying Light	5:43
12.	"One Dove"	The Crying Light	6:28
13.	"Hope There's Someone"	I Am a Bird Now	4:42
14.	"Twilight"	Antony and the Johnsons	5:57
15.	"You Are My Sister"	I Am a Bird Now	4:14
16.	"Whose Are These"	Whose Are These / Tears Tears Tears (single)	2:48
17.	"Tears Tears Tears"	Whose Are These / Tears Tears Tears (single)	2:31
Total length:			76:46

+ Digital booklet

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[16]	67
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[17]	100
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[18]	70
French Albums (SNEP)[19]	146

References

1. "New Horizons International Film Festival - Turning". www.nowehoryzonty.pl. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
2. "Antony & the Johnsons to release Turning on DVD, accompanied by live album". 6 October 2014. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
3. Time Out: Turning review, Nov 13, 2014
4. Hollywood Reporter: Film/video experimentalist Charles Atlas crafts a feature doc from his lauded collaboration with Antony Hegarty
5. "Turning [Live] – Antony and the Johnsons". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
6. Deming, Mark. "Turning – Antony and the Johnsons". AllMusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
7. James, Gareth (November 13, 2014). "Antony And The Johnsons – Turning". Clash. Music Republic Ltd. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
8. Carroll, Jim (November 7, 2014). "Antony & the Johnsons: Turning". The Irish Times. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
9. F. Thompson, James (November 2014). "Turning by Antony & The Johnsons". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
10. Van Nguyen, Dean (November 9, 2014). "Antony And The Johnsons – 'Turning'". NME. Inspire. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
11. Haver Currin, Grayson (November 11, 2014). "Antony and the Johnsons: Turning". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
12. Whitelock, Ed (November 12, 2014). "Antony & the Johnsons: Turning: A Musical Documentary". PopMatters. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
13. Atkins, Jamie. "Antony & the Johnsons – Turning". Record Collector. Diamond Publishing. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
14. Weiner, Sophie (November 11, 2014). "Antony and the Johnsons Turning Album Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
15. Moayeri, Lily (November 21, 2014). "Antony and the Johnsons and Charles Atlas: Turning (Secretly Canadian)". Under the Radar. Retrieved December 28, 2014.
16. "Ultratop.be – Antony & the Johnsons – Turning" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
17. "Ultratop.be – Antony & the Johnsons – Turning" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
18. "Dutchcharts.nl – Antony & the Johnsons – Turning" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
19. "Lescharts.com – Antony & the Johnsons – Turning". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 23, 2014.

External links

• Turning on IMDb