I was first introduced to the work of Genesis P-Orridge by a school friend. I still remember the feeling that I’d entered a strange new zone when I listened to the Psychic TV album Dreams Less Sweet, with its exciting yet unsettling tracks like “In the Nursery.” It felt like punk from a parallel universe—subversive, not just cartoon rebellion.
Years later, through Flux Magazine, Genesis hosted a party we held in New York at the former Tunnel Club. I couldn’t bring myself to properly speak to her (as she’d become then). In my mind, Genesis was an almost darkly magical figure—someone not quite mortal. A one-off artist who created their own version of the world. Now a new film documenting his life and work, S/HE IS STILL HER/E The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary is about the be released directed by David Charles Rodrigues.
Genesis P-Orridge lived their art with uncompromising intensity. As a pioneering musician, avant-garde artist, spiritual seeker, and gender revolutionary, Genesis defied categorization. Though featured in films and videos over the years, their full story—raw, intimate, and unfiltered—has never been told… until now.
In this authorized yet deeply personal documentary, award-winning director David Charles Rodrigues (Gay Chorus Deep South) captures the final year of Genesis’s life. As they confront their own mortality, what unfolds is a powerful meditation on identity, sacrifice, and the rewards of a life lived beyond limits.
The film features appearances by cultural icons like William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Timothy Leary, Alice Genese (Psychic TV), David J (Bauhaus/Love and Rockets), Nepalese monks, African witch doctors, and even a cameo by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth. It also includes never-before-seen archival footage, including rare performances from Throbbing Gristle and Psychic TV.
From The Director
“A few months before meeting her, Genesis came to me in a dream. She put the palms of her hands over mine and said “darling I am transferring all of my knowledge to you, right now.” Despite being a longtime fan of her work and, most importantly, her ideas, I tried my best not to see it as an omen to make a film about her. However, in the next few weeks, she kept showing up in my life in mysterious ways, until our fateful encounter at her home — we were supposed to meet for 45 minutes and it turned into a 12-hour cosmic information download. That same day, I learned she had less than a year to live due to terminal leukemia and also that her mentor Brion Gyson (William Burroughs’ creative partner) once said “wisdom can only be passed through the touching of hands.” I honestly didn’t know who Brion was, but in that moment I knew this was a now or never situation and I saw the entire film unspool in my mind. I spent the next 12 months filming with her, drinking cran-grape vodkas (her favorite drink), and documenting some of the greatest concepts about our human existence I had ever heard. And then with the help of the Genesis estate (who gave us unlimited access to the archives) and our insanely talented editor Dillon Petrillo we were able to cut up Genesis’ many life-times into one story.”
S/HE IS STILL HER/E – The Official Genesis P-Orridge Documentary is out in cinemas from 20th June.
