Derek Jarman

Life & Legacy

Michael Derek Elworthy Jarman (31 January 1942 – 19 February 1994) was an English artist, film maker, stage designer, writer, gardener, and gay rights activist, regarded as one of the most influential figures associated with the new queer cinema. Trained originally as a painter, he moved into stage and production design in the late 1960s, including work on Ken Russell's controversial historical 1971 film The Devils, before turning to filmmaking as a director.
Jarman made his directorial debut with Sebastiane (1976), a Latin-language film depicting the martyrdom of Saint Sebastian through overt homoerotic imagery. The film established many of the characteristics of his work: an openly queer perspective, historical and literary source material treated anachronistically, and a willingness to court controversy. He went on to direct a body of unconventional films including the punk-inflected Jubilee (1978), the stylised biographical drama Caravaggio (1986), and the politically charged adaptation Edward II (1991).
Consistently working outside mainstream British film production, Jarman often struggled to secure financing and developed a distinctive low-budget, experimental practice, frequently using Super 8 film and video. He worked repeatedly with a close circle of collaborators, including actor Tilda Swinton, production designer Christopher Hobbs, costume designer Sandy Powell, producer James Mackay and composer Simon Fisher Turner.
Diagnosed with HIV in 1986, Jarman became one of the first public figures in Britain to speak openly about living with the disease. Throughout his career, Jarman was outspoken about homosexuality, his public fight for gay rights, and his personal struggle with HIV. His final feature film, Blue (1993), consisting of an unchanging blue screen accompanied by a layered soundtrack, was released four months before his death from an AIDS-related illness.