Madonna’s lyrics came circa 1994 – but could have been written about 2026. Curzon Soho’s World Pride Amsterdam trilogy on July 16th isn’t only about the history-making fightback for LGBT+ freedom by Dutch activists after the darkness of Nazi Occupation.
Playing with Bob: Man of The Angels are two films bringing Dutch trans photographer and filmmaker Prins de Vos to the UK screen for the first time: Je Weet Wie Je Bent (You Know Who You Are) and de Vos’ own erotically charged Beds 2: Levon.
The 16th July special programme isn’t just a callback to our history but views that legacy through the lens of modern LGBT+ Amsterdam. And Prins is a fascinating example.
The Dutch artist, well known in the Netherlands, came into view through his unique studies of trans people, both stunning still photography and Prins’ own films like On Hold. Unashamedly explicit, thought-provoking, witty and gorgeously shot, Prins’ Beds trilogy looked at Queer sexualities in their unpredictable diversity. Disarmingly modest, yet able to speak with powerful personal experience in films like An Island of One’s Own, Prins doesn’t ever set out to be a ‘spokesperson’ for the trans community. The experiences and situations of trans people are so diverse and individual, sweeping statements are made AYOR – a salutary note to the UK Supreme Court about the spiral of damage that results from making them…
“On Hold is about the long waiting times in gender-affirming care that are hugely problematic and absolutely need to be seen and heard,” explains Prins. “They’re truly personal, in that place with the camera. Very natural.” Trans twins, older people and the very young all share an intimate glimpse into their lives. For one, it’s a shockingly moving realisation to become who you really are before it’s heartbreakingly too late.
With World Pride Amsterdam marking 80 years of the Dutch COC LGBT+ organisation, 25 years of gay marriage and more, it’s equally true that life for trans people in the Netherlands remains challenging and complex. “In both neighbouring countries and many other countries, the self-determination law is in force there. And in the Netherlands it‘s not adopted.” Prins continues, “If that were the case, those waiting times would shrink enormously. There would just be right away physical help. In the Netherlands, that just doesn’t get through, because the politics are not going in the right direction, and that ensures that those waiting times continue to get longer.” New Dutch prime minister Rob Jetten is a progressive, out gay man. But can his influence shift that dial?
In Beds 2, gorgeous Leo Di Caprio doppelgänger Levon is Prins’ subject. Naked and unnervingly beautiful, Levon has no physical inhibitions in front of Prins’ camera whatsoever, but remains intriguingly ambiguous about the motivation for happily getting it on – and that means full on – for the audience. Vastly better made and more affecting than any mere OnlyFans reel you’re ever likely to see, the beauty is in the impossible-to-fake naturalism and human unpredictability. Levon is all of us, and yet uniquely Levon. No one’s manipulating or steering what unfolds on the screen here. It’s just human nature.
Actify screens with Bob: Man of The Angels, Je Weet Wie Je Bent and Beds 2: Levon.
18 cert. Thurs 16 Jul 18:20 Curzon Soho, 99 Shaftesbury Avenue W1D 5DY
Live Q&A with Peter Tatchell and Sue Sanders
London: Click here to get tickets. Booking discount code 16 Jul: BMOTA10 online or show at door
Amsterdam: The films play a short run at Filmhuis Cavia Amsterdam 20:30 29 Jul, 2-3 Aug during World Pride Amsterdam 2026, more info here
