Peyote Queen

Peyote Queen opens with black-and-white perforations that pulsate to the beat of drumming and escalate to light-bathed split screens and kaleidoscopic effects. Switching to lively organ accompaniment, the film pours out a stream of simple scratchings that rollick across the screen. Fish, breasts, flowers, boats, water, lips, hearts, stars-the hieroglyphs explode with color and celebrate the female creative force. The surge slows with the return of ritual drumming, this time with chanting, and a self-reflective coda. – National Film Preservation Foundation