Into the Flesh

Who was John Kayser? And what really happened in that studio?

For her second XConfessions film, director Montiel went on a research mission: diving deep into the world of a mysterious 1970s photographer known for his erotic polaroids of women seated on objects. The male gaze. The studio. The power dynamic is baked into every frame.

And then she reimagined all of it through a feminist lens.

Into the Flesh is a retro, artsy, and quietly radical recreation of what those sessions might have looked like when the woman in front of the camera holds as much power as the one behind it. Vintage aesthetic, contemporary perspective, and the particular electricity of desire documented on a Polaroid.