Leilah Weinraub – In-Person
Tuesday, April 11, 7:00 PM
Leilah Weinraub is an artist-filmmaker living and working between NY and LA. Her most notable film work is the cult documentary Shakedown – which premiered in the 2017 Whitney Biennial before becoming the first ever film to stream on Pornhub, landing on the Criterion Channel in the summer of 2020. In addition to filmmaking, Weinraub has also served as Co-Founder, Creative Director and CEO of the award winning fashion brand Hood By Air.
Shakedown Documentary, USA, 82 min
We’re outside the club, on a nondescript Los Angeles street at night. The bass of the music inside slowly spills out as the guard checks I.D.s and credentials. Inside, the girls are getting ready, cracking jokes. The scene in the club is very intimate and sensual. The camera tightly pans across to Ronnie Ron doing what she does best; making the audience feel at ease. She’s warming them up and us, the viewers. “Can y’all show some love? Y’all still tipping? If you are, lemme know!” We then jump to a scene of Egypt in the center of the dance floor. She’s fine, she’s frightening, she is in charge. Patrons shower her in dollars. They love her. This is Shakedown, a story that unfolds like a legend.