A Tribute to Debbie Harry

In the organizer's words:

Deborah Harry (*1945) made music history as the songwriter and lead singer of the band Blondie and was a pioneer in male-dominated rock and pop culture as the self-determined frontwoman of a band that only included male musicians. "I never wanted to approach rock'n'roll from a male perspective," she explained in 1982, describing the persona she had created: "The original idea was to be desirable, feminine and vulnerable, at the same time a resilient, sharp mind and not a poor woman drained of her strength by heartbreak and unrequited love." Subsequent generations of female musicians, from Madonna to Lady Gaga, have been inspired by her: "I was highly influenced by Debbie Harry, when I started out as a singer and songwriter. I thought she was the coolest chick in the universe." (Madonna) - "Hmmm, I haven't thought of myself as a 'chick' in some time, but the universe is a good reference." (DH)

Parallel to her career as a singer, Debbie Harry has appeared in more than 50 films as an actress. In comparison to her stardom as a musician, her success in film remained limited, which may be partly due to unfortunate decisions. At the insistence of her record company, she turned down the role in The Blade Runner (1982), which would eventually help Daryl Hannah make her breakthrough. We show a small selection of films with Debbie Harry that she particularly appreciates - "In fact, I'm most proud of having been in HAIRSPRAY and VIDEODROME, and of working with Catalan director Isabel Coixet" - complemented by three New York underground films by Amos Poe from our archive. (Hans-Joachim Fetzer)

Further information can be found here:
https://www.arsenal-berlin.de/kino/filmreihe/a-tribute-to-debbie-harry/