Masterpiece Memo: Maya Deren’s Meshes Of The Afternoon

If I were female, Maya Deren would be my heroine for all time. Scratch that, the pioneer’s legacy in the film world is a landmark of inspiration and adoration for all, regardless of gender, of occupation, of time. Deren’s imprint on the history of cinema is likely too vast and layered to do it justice in a mere think piece. Analysis of the female filmmaker portion of cinema’s lifespan has to incorporate Miss Deren someplace or other. Her artistic, forward-thinking, deep-dwelling mind, intent, and raw skill, pretty much transcends the visual medium as much as it magnificently magnifies it.

 

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Born Eleanora Derenkowskaia on April 29th 1917, Maya Deren was a Russian-American film nut, who as a young, free spirit, spend her inheritance on a second-hand 16mm camera. With the help of that new contraption, she woud sore off into the headspace of celluloid, becoming one of the most instrumental American filmmakers. Ever. Experimental. A woman. An entrepreneur. Fast-baller of avant-garde movement at that time (1940s and so on). Wow, that’s a cluster of impressive mantels. Hold on, Deren was also a talented choreographer, a dancer, a life-long student of film, a teacher of film, a poet, a writer, a keen photographer, and a film director of course.

I’m not in denial, but a little reluctant to delve into Deren’s death at the ripe age of 44. Nor do I require an explanation for such a mournful milestonee. Medication, brain hemorrhage, seveere malnutrition, the fatal exploration of film’s endless possibilities. Deren is not really gone, she is very much still with us, the abstract marvel of her work lives on. Her longing for the liberation of independent cinema over the often compromising, political, money-mad landscape of Hollywood, is a vital message that rings very, very true today – over 75 years on.

 

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Deren’s most renowned film, and her debut I might add, Meshes of the Afternoon, a collaboration with then husband Alexander Hammid in 1943, even opens with a title card stating “Hollywood”. Take that as you will, a dedication, a setting, a great irony. Meshes of the Afternoon is a 14 minute splendor, a dream-like, nightmarish stream of consciousness. Just ask Luis Buñuel, or Jean Cocteau, or David Lynch, what they took from Deren’s artistry. Here she creates an experience (a primary focus for Deren) that is super-dynamic, as well as rather surreal and perceptual.

In Meshes of the Afternoon, Deren’s female protagonist is a rather anonymous figure, you, the audience, determine the iconic status somewhere in your deep, deep mind. The camera seems to keep her face from us for a noteworthy part of the short film, but Meshes of the Afternoon remains an exclusively female experience, whatever the visuals branch out at in your own interpretative scope. And when Deren does show her face, a striking visage with that big coiled hair, an extra dimension enters your psyche, as aesthetic, enigmatic appearance. Thus, the confrontation of identity results in varying and violent impulses, documenting a film noir, melodrama hybrid.

 

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There’s also the recurring silhouette of the woman, almost an entity in itself, and more direct self-aware moments, including when the woman is touching her body – a whiff of sensual redemption or at least recovery and self-appreciation. As Deren effortlessly merges the seemingly real with the dreamlike elements, filmmaking and story-telling boundaries are both pushed and invented. The visual language and sheer imagination are on the screen to see, and be in awe of. Stylistic bookmarks, like the disorientating staircase, or the feminine evocation of flowers (and masculine oppression), have been stamped to death in cinema, but still remain fresh here.

Themes of mortality, ambiguity, and identity are channeled also through the power of rhythmic movement. Deren herself was a dancer, and her elegant motions as she almost glides and bends with such poise and grace, are perfectly fitting with the eerie tone, and also the film’s abstract magnetism. Deren was one of the only female filmmakers working in the film industry at the time, and was instrumental in a kind of film technique handbook, a far-reaching cinematic innovation – albeit on the side of surrealism. The filmmaker’s clear sense of direction and purpose through artistic expression made her stand out among the [male] crowd.

 

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As Deren’s character gazes through the window, desperate to get a good look at the reaper figure dashing off, she is almost a spectator to the events. Message! The emergence of the multiple selves, as when there are three identical women sitting at the table, ignites even more overwhelming and confusing emotions and meaning. The sinister Deren, in a pair of bulbous glasses, is thoroughly chilling, swinging the picture into its gruesome end. Haunting the viewer with the culmination, Deren depicts a rich set of anxieties all the while rummaging through yours.

I will remain to be astonished by Meshes of the Afternoon with every viewing (I have lost count). The vivid cinematography, meticulous editing (and jump cuts), the experimenting with exposures, motion, and the capturing of discontinued space – the feet stepping onto sand, then grass, pavement, then rug is sheer brilliance. Deren, with this 14 minute masterpiece, demonstrates the ability to tap into the human mind, and realms of the unconscious, marking this as, among other things, simultaneously intense and gratifying. An essential chunk of cinema for all.

Why It Is Important To Have A Femme Filmmakers Festival

I recently began writing my first screenplay. My story, which centers on a male protagonist, is not only something I love to tell, but I’ve never had more fun writing anything in my life… that was, until I started developing the main female protagonist. I approached her first scene-stealing moment filled with excitement, but almost immediately hit a road block. I remember blushing at her first real quip, scrolling back to the top of the screenplay for edits, and then walking away when I got back to her scene. I couldn’t figure it out at first, as I’ve loved this character ever since I first came up with her. After going on a binge-watching spree of female-centered films and TV shows, however, I finally understood.

Despite my hard-standing feminism, my pride (merited or not) in my writing, and dedication to multiculturalism, I’ve realized I’m still filled with a sense of panic when it is time to express my femininity, either through myself or a character I’m creating. In a way, I created an impasse in my script by imbuing it too much in my reality; that is, in real life, I’m used to being shamed or censured for asserting myself as a woman, but I was struggling to write a character who refused to let that be a barrier in her life in the manner that it is indisputably in mine.

The solution for my script was simple: either make the woman more conforming to a male-dominated society, or for lack of better phrase, “go off script” and make her even stronger. I’m happy to say I went with the second option, though not without some insecurity. After all, I can’t shake the fact that for all my feminism, I still started my first story feeling more comfortable focusing the movie on a conflicted man rather than a strong woman.

This is one of the many ways that female filmmaking is hard. There are countless external barriers – misogyny, sexist agendas, endless waves of sexual harassment, constricted social norms, double standards, and that gosh darn glass ceiling. There are also financial barriers, like the wage gap or myth that women can’t sell a movie. But before you even face those, you have to make women exist in cinema in the first place—you have to create women worth watching.

Every character is born on a blank page coming from the worldview of the person writing on it, and likely every woman’s worldview is impacted in some way by the aforementioned barriers. This creates internal barriers, like internalized sexism, fear of violating gender norms, and conflicting feelings on stale-yet-comfortable female archetypes.

So, when a great film involving fabulous femmes comes together, whether it is written by, directed by, or starring a woman in a leading role, it isn’t just an accomplishment of overcoming the external barriers, but of pushing through the internal ones – AKA all the wrong lessons gendered social norming pushes on women from the moment they embody their selected gender identity. My newfound experience in screenwriting thus far has shown me exactly how deep down those internal barriers can be.

This is what makes the Femme Filmmakers Festival that much more special – it celebrates exceptional film made by women, but it is also a celebration of female tenacity, bravery, and confidence. In a current Hollywood climate characterized by a shifting landscape of feminism in film, it is exciting to see what this festival will look like in the upcoming years. For now, I think everyone can say with confidence that Hollywood may be a “Man’s World,” but the females in it are both fiercer and fabulous.

 

Reading, Writing, Arithmetic #33

Agnès Varda. A name synonymous with a film revolution still, astonishingly, under-recognized. A name that reminds us of rich, fluent, and oh-so varied cinema. Stayed tuned for the remainder of the Femme Filmmakers Festival, Vagabond closes the the whole affair Sunday. Anyway, I’m only rippling the surface with the following links, but click away all the same.

Agnès Varda’s Art of Being There – Richard Brody – The New Yorker

Agnes Varda, Street-Artist JR on Cannes Documentary ‘Visages Villages’ – Leo Barraclough – Variety

Meet the first female director to get an honorary Oscar – BBC Entertainment & Art

La Pointe Courte: How Agnès Varda “Invented” the New Wave – Ginette Vincendeau – Criterion

Agnès Varda: Walking Backwards Moving Forwards – Robert Barry – The Quietus

Matter, Time, and the Digital: Varda’s The Gleaners and I – Homay King – Bryn Mawr College

And to close, here is a custom made playlist, nearly 4 hours of Agnès Varda interviews and behind the scenes footage from various sources and decades.

Cleo From 5 to 7 is showing on Day Nine, and Vagabond is showing on Day Ten of the Femme Filmmakers Festival.

Billimarie Robinson Talks Filmmaking, Box-Heads, And Being Multiracial

There’s an earnest, smart filmmaking brain in the young head of Billimarie Robinson, whose diverse short films over the years have perhaps allowed her to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders through creative expression. When we first interacted a couple of years ago, having seen and reviewed Corrugated Hearts, I swore to myself I would one day ask the writer, director, producer what was indeed channeling through her veins when she conceived the idea for that short film. Here was my chance.

Our nerd-esque conversation on films firstly went to our respective childhoods – the films that stood out when we were kids. My first strong memory was E.T., which Robinson found nostalgically amusing. “I grow up in L.A. next to the street where they filmed the infamous bike scene.”. Wow. So what else did she love growing up? “I was a huge Dead Poets Society fan, I would watch it almost all summer. I can’t talk about that film without getting emotional about it.”.

“And The Nightmare Before Christmas.”, the filmmaker continues passionately, “That is huge, there’s this darkness, it’s like a starry night.”. We both agreed that you can tell a lot about a person from what they watched as a child. “Those films are bleak, de-saturated, but passionate and intricate. With The Nightmare Before Christmas I really love in-camera effects, it really does not age, do it well, and it carries on forever. There’s a beauty that comes in rigging things, and physically sculpting, moving, finding intricate and creative ways of having something interact – not just the elements on film, but the camera and the viewer itself.”.

Robinson is also a huge Matrix fan, “My parents did not know the level of violence, otherwise they would not let me watch it.”. Even at the end of our lengthy discussion, Robinson and I were still rambling on about the filmmakers we admire. “Park Chan-wook, famous for the Vengeance trilogy (Old Boy, Lady Vengeance, Mr. Vengeance). He’s consistently good, but can also navigate different worlds.” I chip in, confessing Lady Vengeance is one of my favorites, that it reinvigorates the revenge genre. “Yes. The revenge film is done to death. I love that Lady Vengeance took place in the winter, with the snow, and every single aspect of it is pushing for this ultimate climax.”.

At some point we did actually talk about three of Robinson’s short films, two of which are showcased at the Femme Filmmakers Festival. “I really appreciate you reaching out to me.” she says, “I remember the first time I read your review of Corrugated Hearts, one of the most gorgeous experiences, having a compete stranger tap into your mindset. It meant a lot to me.”. I added that I strongly feel discovering new short films is so rewarding, I mean, there is so much you can do in short films you wouldn’t see in feature films. That’s part of the beauty of shorts.

Corrugated Hearts, were people have boxes for heads essentially, has so many depths of interpretation – melancholy, a love story, the TV culture, even a whiff of artificial intelligence. “I had met a musician who wanted me to create a music video for him. I just graduated from college undergrad, and had kind of established the practice of being a freelance filmmaker, camera woman, editor. But, we disagreed on the actors, I did not want to compromise. There is something very intimate about the characters in the film, the actors had box heads on, and they could not see in those things.”. That was Robinson’s opportunity, to take what could have been a music video, to a short film. “I took the concept and ran. I was given leave to explore the inner workings of my own mind. Corrugated Hearts was a culmination of one of the best summers of my life.”.

“I really think there is something painfully beautiful how we, as humans or creatures, operate in life. To take notions of what it meant to be alive, and the troublesome aspects of life like heartbreak, or 3.0 upgrades.”. You could almost see these people as having disabilities, I added. “Yeah. I think of the X-Men, when there is a divide between those that want to be normalized, and those staunchly against any radical changes. I was drawn to my main character, he was non-conformist, and you could tell it was not just a choice. For him to go into that upgrade, that was how strong his love was. I have no idea where the title came from, but it hit me like a train.”.

On a very different spectrum and structure, was Sugar Water. A bi-racial kind of monologue, which must have been genuine diary entries, or at least Robinson’s thoughts finally tuned. “I created that when I was a senior in high school. I internally cringe, but appreciate that is where I was, and got to express it. I went to a high school, some would call liberal, instead of studying things like economics or government, we studied racism, sexism, classism, homophobia – the works. I was being confronted with things beyond my own teenage angst.”.

There are a lot of issues with race, gender, sexuality, and sometimes you do see something so obvious, and you’re like ‘Oh yeah, that is the way to look at it.’ – like the sugar water mix. “You confront head-on people that blatantly believe we are made up of blocks of sand that are so different from each other. So I wrote a lot about my experiences as a multiracial racial person. I quit basketball, and joined the new film program. My teacher pushed me to always be going deeper, the different ways to utilize film. I sent the film out, and it got awards after awards. I got to go to awards ceremonies, meet interesting people. At one festival I met the director of Juno, Jason Reitman. He had seen the film – Wow, he saw Sugar Water – and he has a biracial daughter. I remember shaking his hand, and him saying to me casually ‘I hope my daughter doesn’t go through the same sort of thing’ – I was so taken aback!.”.

Such creative pieces, and with You Are* (unfortunately not showcasing at #FemmeFilmFest) there was an even broader range of Robinson’s filmic skills. A simple walk and talk short film, with our female filmmaker in front of the phone camera too, as the screen splits into three. Don’t you think it would look great on IMAX? I half-joke. “That’d be great! Or if someone set up three iPhones in a gallery somewhere, and played them on three different walls. Wow, we think very very similar.”.

So did you write this, or was it spontaneous? Or both? “Yeah, I got up and just started recording. I had no kind of narrative. I spent about five years, on and off, traveling with my typewriter typing free poetry for strangers. I lived in all these different places, I was in this very anti-capitalistic mindset. I really wanted to confront art as something that is not rewarding, in the same way as eating or walking. I wrote a manifesto ‘Imagination Is The New Work’. I was trying to express these things. You Are* was one of many attempts. It’s so hard to even talk about. I can distance myself from whatever mood I was in with the other films, but I am just coming out of the space I was operating with You Are*. Ninety percent of the population are not going to get it, and that’s fine, I don’t care about that. I care about the one or ten percent, people like you, who can tap into similar realities.”.

So does Billimarie Robinson have a take on the women directors of today? “I occupy a space that is not Hollywood, not really narrative, not feature – I am on the outskirts, on the fringe of the fringe. My perspective is going to be very different to those navigating Hollywood in the feature length scene. I don’t want to say much about that as I do not have claims to them. I am so in love with everyone I have met on this journey, a multitude of women who are doing it, and doing it well. I could gush. There are a lot of barriers, and nobody is going to deny that. There is a brilliance in comradery that we don’t often talk about. There is a sense of belonging. I am extremely optimistic. As dark as I can be I have to believe there are little pockets of light where we can operate on the same wavelength.”.

Corrugated Hearts and Sugar Water are both shown on Day Seven of the Femme Filmmakers Festival.

Young Filmmaker Sofija Sztepanov Talks Personal Experiences, Short Films, And Tinder

Talented 24 year-old filmmaker Sofija Sztepanov appears to have a humble yet dynamic perspective on her corner of the film world. There is also an excitement about the Femme Filmmakers Festival from her, as we discuss, in a thankfully encouraging manner, the online format of film watching and publicity. It doesn’t take long, by definition, to watch a short film, and everyone should feel the same. Sztepanov agrees, thankful for the selection of her new short film Tinder Will Understand at the #FemmeFilmFest, meanwhile she was at the Venice Film Festival as a young jury member.

Tinder Will Understand is snappy and witty, and rings very true on many levels during its mere 5 minute run-time. I certainly laughed more than once in that short space of time. “We showed it at the Raindance Festival,” Sztepanov proudly tells me, “and we had some amazing feedback. The best feedback, though, was that in the room there were around seventy or eighty people, and everyone was laughing out loud.”.

The magnetism of Tinder Will Understand is that it is a little bit awkward what happens between the young couple at the center. People probably do experience that sort of thing. Without delving into too many potential spoilers, the funniest bit for me is when he tells her his name, to which she mentions in slight concern that they might be getting too intimate. You have to be there. “That is very true of young people today,” Sztepanov adds, “that the intimacy between people is changing, or the way they experience it. Younger people will sleep together, and not know each others name, or care about it. That’s why I thought this had some relevance and truth to it.”.

Sztepanov is inspired by the likes of Woody Allen, the Coen Brothers, Quentin Tarantino, and Sofia Coppola. “I know many of those are commercial, but that is some of what I like. I watch a lot of indie films, and prefer these. I like the absurdity, comedy, and social satire.”. The young filmmaker is half Serbian, half Hungarian, and she is quick to mention Emir Kusturica as a brilliant inspiration. Nice. “What I like about [Sofia] Coppola is the female narratives, she is trying to portray the female point of view. With Tinder Will Understand I tried to portray both male and female sides. My next film will be more of a female point of view.”.

Seemingly well-cultured, I pressed Sztepanov on her travels as a filmmaker. “I grow up in Hungary, and ever since I was a young age I was influenced by the Hungarian-Serbian cultures. And when I was 16 I moved to Montenegro which is in the region, and they basically speak Serbian-Croatian, which was an easy transition for me. After that, I moved to Italy for university. And since then I have been going to London quite frequently, as I write in English mostly. My next short will shooting in English, but we will make it in Italy.”.

So the production company, Action On The Side, is based in London? “Yes. I was going to London for a few workshops, they had a program that was weekend filmmaking. They chose my script, and we made the film.”. And what of the casting? And crew? Where did that help come from? “They [Action On The Side] helped me cast Tinder Will Understand. They did everything. The script was mine, and I said I would direct it, but most of the crew were involved in the workshop. And with the actor [Ryan Bennett], that was his girlfriend [Lily Smith] in real life. I liked the fact they already had some sort of intimacy, and in the movie perhaps this comes across faster.”.

Without wanting to embarrass the poor girl, I played it the naive card and asked what Tinder is for those in the world that don’t know. “It is an online dating application, I think that’s the description of it.” Sztepanov laughs, “You meet and match with people, you decide if you like somebody, and you let them know. And they check you out, and if you end up talking it is up to you what you do from there.”. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink. “Funny thing is, I have never used Tinder. I have had a boyfriend for 4 years, and so never got to use it.”. So none of the film is based on the candid filmmaker’s own personal experiences? “I get asked that question a lot. My boyfriend laughs about it as has to explain that he has not pulled a tampon out of me.”. Of course we both laugh at that. A natural comic moment to which Tinder Will Understand is sharply based.

There is a fine line between what is 5 minutes, and what could be 30 minutes as short films go. “Depends on a lot of things, like the topic,” Sztepanov chips in, “it was sort of like a sketch, it is pretty fast, so it doesn’t have to go on for a long period of time. It is a very common mistake for new filmmakers to make their films too long, they put unnecessary dialogue or action in it.”. I add that with short films I can be critical privately, like that could have been longer, or the disappoint that the experience was over so fast. If Tinder Will Understand would have done that it could have turned into slapstick, and diluted the humor. “Right. Five minutes was a really good time for this film.” the writer-director says, “When I first edited it, it is was seven minutes. The producer, who had more experience than I do, thought we should cut two minutes out. Honestly, I am really thankful for that advice, because it is better than it was at seven minutes.”. Amazing what difference a couple of minutes can make. “Yes. But just enough to lose people’s attention. You have rely on your instincts, but it is very important to get it right.”.

So what’s next for Sofija Sztepanov? Feature films, perhaps. “I have a new script. A much bigger topic, about feminism. A satire on extreme feminism, it is such an important and sensitive topic today. I want to create a more well-rounded picture of how it is now in the western world. This will be my biggest short film, biggest production, biggest budget. And after that, I would like to move onto features. Maybe TV series.”. I will be keeping an eye on what you do next, that’s for sure.

Tinder Will Understand is showing on Day Six of the Femme Filmmakers Festival.

Welcome to The Bling Ring Generation

Originally published over at On The Screen Reviews

Before Hollywood discovered the benefit of locking their doors when leaving town, a group of gutsy, celebrity-obsessed high schoolers ransacked the homes of Paris Hilton, Rachel Bilson, Orlando Bloom, and Lindsey Lohan…to name a few. And they posted their  designer booty on Facebook feeling the temporary fulfillment of ultimate materialism–until they got caught.

Sofia Coppola’s 2013 pop culture blitz uncovers the fame-obsessed culture our society has unraveled into. Like her films in recent past, Somewhere and Lost in Translation both tap into the emptiness of celebrity, but both offer a degree of sympathy toward characters that have emotions we can relate to. Coppola’s precise story-telling of The Bling Ring is more rigid with unlikable characters who are impossible to empathize with, which makes you wonder — why would Coppola dive headfirst into this vapid pool of stolen Louboutins and Chanel?

“I saw this culture growing and growing, so I wanted the audience to experience it for themselves, and by the end of [the movie] to think about what’s important to them and how they feel about it—not to tell them what to think. It seems like it’s from reality TV and social media—this idea that kind of anyone and everyone can be famous. It’s just such a big part of our life now. In the beginning, to shoot all of this stuff in a really seductive way and make it look fun—you want to be able to be part of it so you understand where they’re coming from. But then by the end of it, you kind of have a shift and take a step back and, you know, kind of look at it.”

“I thought, How am I going to make a movie where the characters are so unsympathetic? Usually there’s a girl or a character that I connect with and see part of myself in, and in this one I didn’t. It was really a challenge to find a way to tell the story in a way that would engage you, ’cause if you don’t care about the characters how can you get into it? But then I met [Nick Prugo], and I thought he was really the most sympathetic one—you could understand how he could have gotten caught up in this group and why he wanted to be a part of it. I remembered being that age and, you know, you do things you wouldn’t do as an adult because you want the excitement of feeling like you’re part of something.” Sofia Coppola via RookieMag

The Bling Ring is based on the real-life accounts of  the accused burglars in the infamous Vanity Fair article “The Suspects Wore Loubitons.” If the film can offer sympathy to any character, Coppola leans toward Marc (the character based off of Nick Prugo), the go-to bummer story of the outsider trying to fit in with his peers. The story unfolds in flashbacks beginning with Marc recounting his insecurities and how that affected his transition in his new high school. Marc (Israel Broussard) describes himself as unattractive and unnoticeable guy who needed reassurance that he was “somebody.” That reassurance comes from the soon-to-be leader of the Bling Ring Rebecca (Katie Chang), who takes Marc under her wing and immediately initiates him into a thievery clique of their own together starting with small heists;  unlocked car to steal from, followed by homes of acquaintances and finally the ballsy move toward celebrity homes. Rebecca relied on Marc to locate the celebrity homes through websites and aerial views of the home. Marc and Rebecca are joined by Nicki (Emma Watson), Sam (Taissa Farmiga) and Chloe (Claire Julien) who are all equally as vapid, shallow and consumed in the emptiness of striving for the celebrity lifestyle.

Initially apprehensive and visibly uncomfortable to the seemingly harmless burglaries with Rebecca, Marc is reassured that the victims will never notice anything is missing, because “they have so much.” Marc’s motives differed from the girls, who vied to be a part of the celebrity lifestyle with bags, jewelry and shoes–living the life on a five-finger discount. Marc revels in the acceptance and attention Rebecca gives him claiming he loved her like a sister and proves there are no limits to pleasing her. Basking in the limelight of excess, their ventures make the news after MTV star Audrina Patridge posts a surveillance video of the thieves breaking into her home. While the other Bling Ring members are shaken by the exposure, despite their identities being unknown, Rebecca doesn’t allow a gap between their conquests. Everything eventually comes to a crashing halt, and the rest is history.

This was one of my greatest anticipations for the summer of 2013, because I, like Coppola, am with how outrageous this story was and how unbelievable the details are. But as silly and shallow as the dialogue is in the movie, every line or details stems from facts or from police/the Vanity Fair interview prior to the sentencing. Those kids were that slick, that stupid and that desperate. I thought the script was very well written by Coppola who told the story unbiased providing more fact than fiction to support her story-telling. Indiewire compiled a list of excerpts from reviewers who seem to be missing the genius behind Coppola’s motives asking “Does Sophia Coppola have a problem with privilege or do her critics?” Review excerpts include: “As if using cinema as therapy to deal with her own guilt trip for being brought up into Hollywood opulence, writer-director Sofia Coppola once again delivers us into a world of spoiled young people grappling with their warped sense of entitlement.” This “world” doesn’t fall in the minority of California; it’s a relevant problem of our society overexposed to social media and reality television. The Bling Ringers displayed the conquests in a variety of slow-motion “selfies” that immediately were published to Facebook, the cyber universe showcasing who’s who.

“In a recent interview with The New York Times Magazine, Coppola offered ‘When I go to a concert, everyone is filming and photographing themselves and then posting the pictures right away. It is almost as if your experiences don’t count unless you have an audience watching them.’ While hardly a novel sentiment, Coppola’s anecdotal observation nevertheless speak to the fundamental lack of presentness at the heart of her new movie. How do you live in the moment when you can’t even tell when the moment is, anymore?” via Film.com

I have a love/hate relationship with Sofia Coppola’s films. She has a very crisp eye for precision and art direction; every shot is filmed with an exact intention in mind…nothing is accidental in Sofia Coppola shots, and I love her for that. The opening sequence was one of my favorites shots showcases one of the many break-ins into Paris Hilton’s mansion filled with decadence, crystal chandeliers, designer everything and countless framed photos of the heiress. Another great shot Coppola used was a wide shot of Marc and Rebecca burglarizing Audrina Patridge’s home, but all we see is a faraway shot looking into the glass house as they quickly rummage through the glass house and scamper out.

As for the relatively unknown casting choices, the film may have benefited with a group of unknowns giving it a greater authenticity of average kids yearning for fame. With the exception of the tour de force Emma Watson, who steals almost every scene with her vacant, self-involved persona and atrocious valley girl accent that she nailed. [If you find it obnoxious or over-the-top, that is exactly what Alexis Neiers, the girl she portrays, sounds like.] Watson committed 100% to understanding how her character ticks. She proved in Perks of Being a Wildflower that she had graduated from the Hogwarts Era, and The Bling Ring has catapulted her into a whole other category of tremendous potential. Another surprising standout was Israel Broussard, who convinced me to feel a pinch of sympathy for him in his quest to find acceptance.

Coppola is particular in the work she chooses and only has a film come out every handful of years. The celebrity-obsessed culture and fascination with fame has been a serious American issue for over a decade, and it hasn’t stopped. The group behind the infamous Bling Ring displayed how far people will go to achieve that level of materialistic satisfaction. But as matter-of-fact as Coppola was with unbiased telling their story, she left me wanting more. Something. Anything. Here’s where she could have stepped outside of the facts she knew and created an altercation between Marc and Rebecca or among the group or something to give me a greater sense of the fear and distress prior to their arrest. Coppola delivered a relevant cautionary tale that resonates now more than ever, and Coppola left me and my friends feeling very unsettled in the pit of our stomachs when the credits rolled. There was a lot to be desired that Coppola could have worked with, and I wished she had dived a little deeper into this.

The Bling Ring is being shown on Day Three of the Femme Filmmakers Festival.

Femme Filmmakers Festival 2017 – Line-Up Announced

Here we are once again. I literally salivate at the mouth at the prospect of spending hours and hours in a darkened room with all these women. Women directors, and their marvelous work, as we fast approach the Directed By Women Worldwide Film Viewing Party. Following the success of last year’s online viewing event, Femme Filmmakers Festival, with great responses to terrific films like Mustang and A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night,  have dug even deeper this year.

The 10 day event running from Friday 1st September until Sunday 10th September will be showcasing a whopping 50 films – 20 features, 30 shorts – all directed by females, and available to stream online. As I am sure you are all familiar with the likes of Amazon, iTunes, Netflix, Google Play, YouTube, and Vimeo, joining in to see as many of them as possible shouldn’t be too tricky. In addition I’ll be interviewing a select few female filmmakers, there’ll be a podcast too.

I implore you to participate (I mean, watching fine films is a piece of cake), celebrating the great work of so many talented women. The main scheduled screening for each film is of course flexible, a daily selection of innovative, diverse, compelling films can be viewed online in your own leisure. I’m sure you don’t have to reach far for your laptop / phone / iPad. Watch them in solitude, while having your dinner (I hear popcorn is a good movie appetizer), gather others to join in – hell, organize your own viewing party. Wherever you in the world.

I also encourage vast discussion, the comments section below ought to be a real help here, but also stay close to the event on Facebook, on Twitter via the #FemmeFilmFest hashtag, and wherever else you see fit. A preview will be published each day starting at the end of the week. Please have a good, good scan below at the extensive line-up in preparation (streaming platforms to follow). Believe me, a lot of work went into this, but it was a pleasure, and these ladies are worth it. Any questions at all, please ask.

Petra Costa

Friday 1st September

The Danish Poet (2006) – Torill Kove – 15 mins
I Just Said That (2017) – Stefanie Davis – 3 mins
Lick the Star (1998) – Sofia Coppola – 14 mins

Elena (2013) – Petra Costa – 80 mins
All This Panic (2017) – Jenny Gage – 79 mins

Sofia Coppola

Saturay 2nd September

The Dresser (2014) – Mary Neely – 13 mins
Touch (2010) – Jen McGowan – 11 mins
Mano a mono (2015) – Saranne Bensusan – 12 mins

Marie Antoinette (2006) – Sofia Coppola – 123 mins
Toni Erdmann (2016) – Maren Ade – 162 mins

Maryam Keshavarz

Sunday 3rd September

A Portrait of Ga (1952) – Margaret Tait – 4 mins
A Million Miles Away (2014) – Jennifer Reeder – 28 mins
Speed Dating (2014) – Meghann Artes – 11 mins

The Bling Ring (2013) – Sofia Coppola – 90 mins
Circumstance (2012) – Maryam Keshavarz – 107 mins

Minhal Baig

Monday 4th September

Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) – Maya Deren – 14 mins
After Sophie (2017) – Minhal Baig – 9 mins
Hala (2016) – Minhal Baig – 14 mins

Afghan Star (2009) – Havana Marking – 87 mins
The Love Witch (2017) – Anne Biller – 120 mins

Anna Muylaert

Tuesday 5th September

Empire of Ache (1996) – Lisa Hammer – 9 mins
Fangirl (2016) – Liza Mandelup – 5 mins
Hot Seat (2017) – Anna Kerrigan – 13 mins

Sleeping with Other People (2015) – Leslye Headland – 101 mins
Que Horas Ela Volta? / The Second Mother (2015) – Anna Muylaert – 112 mins

Sofija Sztepanov

Wednesday 6th September

Tinder Will Understand (2016) – Sofija Sztepanov – 5 mins
Lonely Planet (2014) – Alex Burunova – 24 mins
160 Characters (2015) – Victoria Mapplebeck – 11 mins

Whale Rider (2003) – Niki Caro – 101 mins
Un amour de jeunesse / Goodbye First Love (2011) – Mia Hansen-Løve – 110 mins

Billimarie Robinson

Thursday 7th September

Sugar Water (2006) – Billimarie Robinson – 9 mins
Corrugated Hearts (2010) – Billimarie Robinson – 7 mins
Strange Beasts (2017) – Magali Barbe – 6 mins

Suffragette (2015) – Sarah Gavron – 106 mins
Hævnen / In a Better World (2010) – Susanne Bier – 119 mins

Agnès Varda

Friday 8th September

Keep the Change (2013) – Rachel Israel – 16 mins
3-Way (Not Calling) (2016) – Molly McGlynn – 11 mins
Salut les Cubains (1971) – Agnès Varda – 30 mins

Lovesong (2017) – So Yong Kim – 84 mins
Maryland / Disorder (2015) – Alice Winocour – 98 mins

Jane Campion

Saturday 9th September

When You Find Me (2011) – Bryce Dallas Howard – 29 mins
Mythopolis (2014) – Alexandra Hetmerová – 11 mins
My Stuffed Granny (2014) – Effie Pappa – 9 mins

Bright Star (2009) – Jane Campion – 119 mins
Cléo de 5 à 7 / Cléo from 5 to 7 (1961) – Agnès Varda 90 mins

Katina Mercadante

Sunday 10th September

Five (2015) – Katina Mercadante – 5 mins
Chinti (2012) – Natalia Mirzoyan – 8 mins
Sierra (2013) – Chelsea Christer – 18 mins

Selma (2014) – Ava DuVernay – 128 mins
Toit ni Loi / Vagabond (1985) – Agnès Varda – 105 mins

* * * * *

What do you think? Are you as excited as me? Comment below. Look out for the detailed day-by-day schedules coming soon.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 20 of 20

Let’s put this second 100 films made by women series to bed. We close with short films of intrigue and features of love. Find the whole lot and more under the female filmmakers section.

Volta (2015) – Stella Kyriakopoulos

Born in New Jersey, Greek film-maker-and-editor Stella Kyriakopoulos was raised in Athens, and these days resides between New York and Greece. Her first, and the nation’s, visit to the Sundance short film competition in 2015 resulted in her receiving the Women in Film in Los Angeles Award for her short film Volta. Telling the intriguing and simple tale of a mother and daughter ambling around parts of Athens. Kyriakopoulos drew inspiration from her own experiences as the people of Greece were suffering losses during the recent financial crisis.

A Day’s Plead (2014) – Linda Fenstermaker

To say this is disorientating is an under-statement, Linda Fenstermaker shakes up your vision, and gets your brain working harder than usual, editing together with rapid cuts of similar spots of a house. Parts of a map, a closing and opening door, the shapes of window frames and walls, blending color with black and white. Objects appear to subconsciously reinvent their meaning in front of our eyes, and as we try to make sense of the imagery, all in those few seconds. And it’s an empty house, isolated, the unease of such execution is skillful, but no good for my own anxiety.

A Million Miles Away (2014) – Jennifer Reeder

A Million Miles Away is a captivating short film written and directed by Jennifer Reeder, which merges multiple teenage girls and their spoken angst and chit-chat, with an adult woman, who seems lonely and fragile. The woman later turns out to be the teenagers’ substitute music teacher. The film, which runs just under the half hour mark, serves as a kind of spoken poem, a steady out-pour of thoughts and feelings relating to the particular speaker’s own insecurities or concerns. A composition of personal anguish – expressed in various ways including to an E.T. figure, and through a vocal Madonna rendition. All in all a fascinating experience. The second half of the film, as class begins, the troubled conductor faces the unsympathetic, but curious eyes, of the teenage girl choir. Their singing harmonies perfectly encapsulate the enigmatic emotions in the air. The girls soon develop into a kind of support system to the woman, and the adult and teenage world optimistically collide.

It Felt Like Love (2013) – Eliza Hittman

Another woman provides another tender tale of misunderstood teenagers. This time Eliza Hittman displays some bold and expressive film-making as she follows a teenager girl, Lila (Gina Piersanti), who wants to grow up in a big hurry, specifically allured by the sexual escapades of her more experienced girl friend. She soon learns the complications of adulthood by sheer curiosity and attempting to imitate her potential older self. It’s a fascinating transition from childhood to the world of an adult, and Hittman handles the exploration beautifully, albeit bringing a sense of danger to the teenage limbo phase of one’s life. The camera lingers around Lila, almost giving us her point of view, but the photography too is gorgeous to look at.

Goodbye First Love (2011) – Mia Hansen-Løve

The name Mia Hansen-Løve ought to be a household one, synonymous with quiet little films, emotional in impact, and honest in execution. Such delicacy and intimacy is there in Goodbye First Love (Un amour de jeunesse) from start to finish, this is instantly a film that beautifully slips into the blood stream, bouncing back and forth from the heart. Appearing in pretty much every scene, Camille (a sympathetic, yet assertive turn from Lola Créton), begins a teenager in love, transcends into a young woman at study and work, but never really loses that euphoria or heartbreak from the first love. Camille is quite an insecure girl, both in that initial adoration, and eight years on, scratching at the surface of her romantic companion’s locked feelings. She wants that reassurance, always has, ever since their rural romantic flourish before he set off for months to travel abroad. It’s not her fault, love like that creeps up on you, is hard to shake off, and does make you volatile. Camille is a tough cookie, wears her heart on her sleeve, but is not afraid to duck for the apples. It is testament to director Hansen-Løve and actress Créton that this thing called love is captured with such affecting sincerity.

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 19 of 20

As we just about draw the curtains on the 100 More Films Made By Women, there sure is a certain sadness, I’m not going to lie. After all the hard-work, the brain power, the anticipation, the digging, the discoveries, the watching, the writing – it comes down to this.

With the final 10 movies with women behind the camera in site, they illustrate that first love, the safe transition to adulthood. They long for your mother to accept you as you are, or even your father to be forgiven, somehow leave the past behind. We pray for loved ones to return from the war untainted, to experience healing regardless of your faith. These 10 movies, short or long, old or new, color or black and white, humorous or serious, are all wonderful examples of the talented female film-makes out there. I raise a glass to them all, as well as those great writers that contributed over these past weeks.

On that note, I close out the series all by myself – and it was a pure joy to be able to watch these films and then write about them. Here are the penultimate 5:

The Love Light (1921) – Frances Marion

Going back nearly 100 years to revisit a gem of the silent movie era is indeed a treat. The Love Light, written and directed by Frances Marion in 1921, is produced by the illustrious, industry darling Mary Pickford – who also stars, and is at her accustomed, melodramatic best. The movie opens in typical fashion, with comedy chases and sibling banter, but soon emerges as a something of a war drama, a love story, a fable of loss and hope. The love light of the title comes from the declaration of love from Angela (Pickford) via the lighthouse signal. It’s still to this very day a remarkable achievement, enthralling and moving throughout, equipped with engaging performances by the players and effective plot twists. The moment Angela hears those muttered words of the sleeping spy is a truly powerful moment that rivals any modern day narrative shock reveal. The Love Light has it’s fair share of tragedy and promise too, Pickford transcends from the screen like a beacon, a woman of iconic status without any doubt both in front of and behind the screen. I’d like to think she’d endorse women film-makers as much as, if not more than, any of us.

Pariah (2011) – Dee Rees

The coming of age stories are thriving under the direction of women it seems, and Pariah, written and directed by Dee Rees, is no different. Premiering at Sundance, the film is also a coming out story, an engaging, grueling affair, with the young Alike (Adepero Oduye) at the center of the sexual identity status. She is a hesitant lesbian, in practice, but she stops and starts, largely due to her mother, who does not approve and attempts to get her daughter to dress more feminine. Their relationship is turbulent and hard-fought, and as a result, like Alike declares herself in a poem she reads aloud, it is somewhat heart-breaking. When her mother struggles to reciprocate the “I love you” from Alike, the youngster claims, though, she is not broken, but free – and we so want to believe her.

Eve’s Bayou (1997) – Kasi Lemmons

1950s, Louisiana, and 10 year-old girl, Eve, takes some rather unorthodox action when she finds out her father is constantly being unfaithful to their mother. Eve’s Bayou is a relationship drama with much depth, given plenty of space for family dynamics between parents, siblings, and that of mothers, fathers, and their children. Written and directed by Kasi Lemmons (she was Jodie Foster’s buddy in The Silence of The Lambs), her directorial debut, this is a well-crafted drama, seemingly true to the period, lavish-looking, and wonderfully acted by actresses of varying ages, all with so much poise on display.

Night Catches Us (2010) – Tanya Hamilton

Ex-Black Panther Marcus (Anthony Mackie) makes his return to his old Philadelphia neighborhood during the summer of 1976, following the death of his father. His absence has a whiff of mystery attached, which means some people in the community are not so happy to see the man they consider a snitch. He re-acquaints himself with Patricia (Kerry Washington), whose murdered husband was also a Panther, and is now a civil-rights lawyer and single mother. Night Catches Us has a strong historical layer, with actual footage, though only dips it’s toes into the whys and what-fors, director and writer Tanya Hamilton brings out a solid, gripping drama. Washington and Mackie have great on-screen chemistry, and have rarely been better than they are here.

Lourdes (2009) – Jessica Hausner

Multiple sclerosis means Christine (Sylvie Testud) is bound by a wheelchair. She is also restrictive in her faith, so while visiting Lourdes, an iconic Catholic site, she begins to feel actual bodily sensations again (while the faithful do not so much). Before the change in fortunes, Christine tells of a dream she had were she was paralyzed and that Virgin Mary had appeared to her and she was paralyzed no more. In and around the script are snippets of conversation on healing and faith, echoing those notions of the suspicion of religion. Religion and desire go hand-in-hand to some degree here, then, as director Jessica Hausner does a fine job in telling these life events just as they are, and also in not providing us, or indeed the characters, with the answers. Testud is cunningly impressive, with that wry smile creeping through and a sly glint in her eye, like she has the upper hand over everyone else in spite of her motionless state.

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 18 of 20

Young siblings pop up again, but with more than just rivalry on their plates. There’s 2 more fascinating documentaries, as well as 2 ‘based on real events’ fiction features. Let’s start with a pop star:

W.E. (2011) – Madonna

A seven-time Grammy Award winner, Madonna is known for her pop hits and superstar tours, but this singer/actress has ambitions to direct. In 2011, she finally made her directorial debut with W.E., a film about the affair between King Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson, which led to Edward abdicating the throne. The film also featured a contemporary story-line of a romance, which was supposed to be a modern day parallel to Edward and Wallis’ love story, between a married woman and a Russian security guard. W.E. received poor reviews, but the film won a Golden Globe for Best Song for Madonna’s “Masterpiece”. Madonna isn’t letting W.E.‘s failure at the box office stop her from returning to the director’s chair. She is planning to adapt Ade: A Love Story from the novel of the same name by Rebecca Walker. The book is about a pair of U.S. students traveling in Kenya, one of whom falls in love with a local man, adopts an Arabic name, and tries to adapt to her new life in unfamiliar surroundings. – – – Lauren Byrd @laurencbyrd14

The 33 (2015) – Patricia Riggen

“I’m gonna do things my way!” This is what “Super” Mario says when told that there is no way out. The same can be said for director Patricia Riggen and The 33, a film about the 2010 Copiapó mining accident that trapped 33 miners 2,300 feet deep inside a mine. At times it feels suffocating, and you feel that sense of dread that comes over the miners as they struggle to cope with the idea that no one is coming to rescue them. Well, as we now know, that changed. Once the world found out, there was no way the Chilean government was going to let them die. It was very interesting to see how they managed to stay sane when they had to continue to be trapped for another 3 months after the drilling started. I think director Patricia Riggen did a wonderful job in instructing all these men on how to portray these real people, and the way we see the balance between being with the men in the mine and their families hoping and praying that they would make it out alive. She made a thrilling film about a simple story, and was able to stir up the right emotions when we see the survivors coming together in the end. – – – Al Robinson @Al_Rob_1982l

The Square (2013) – Jehane Noujaim

Tahrir Square, of Cairo, is the location in the film title The Square, Jehane Noujaim’s documentary highlighting the rebellious efforts of the Egyptian people. Attempting to overthrown government, there was bedlam in Cairo, a chunk of history viewed with wide eyes, and ears. Noujaim, who made a similarly impacting account with the Iraq media war film Control Room in 2004, captures the revolutionary politics in Egypt with grounded accuracy. So much handheld footage make this raw and engaging all the more, with extensive birdseye views of Tahrir Square, and on-the-ground viewpoints from those involved. The director has also had to, or chose to, revisit the editing room several times due to the altering of events. – – – Robin Write@WriteoutofLA

Elvis & Nixon (2016) – Liza Johnson

In one of the strangest moments to ever happen at the White House, on December 21, 1970, Elvis Presley had a meeting with President Richard Nixon in the Oval Office to discuss Elvis becoming deputized as a “Federal Agent at Large”. Elvis had a crazy idea that he was going to help wipe out drug use and other nefarious behaviors of the youth in America. He planned to go undercover and arrest drug pushers and users. When he showed up at the gates of the White House, he was of course sent away. When the White House staff asked the President if he’d be willing to meet with Elvis, the President scoffed and said no. In the end the meeting took place, and it ended up being an eventful moment. What’s great about the film is that director Liza Johnson made this story approachable for any viewer, and didn’t preach or politicize. She just made a hell of an entertaining film, filled with great performances from Michael Shannon as Elvis Presley, Kevin Spacey as President Richard Nixon, and various other supporting actors. One of the best moments in the film is when the secret service was asking Elvis to remove all of his firearms. The fact that this all happened in real life just makes it so scandalous, but that it is now immortalized in film makes it priceless. – – – Al Robinson @Al_Rob_1982

My Skinny Sister (2015) – Sanna Lenken

Swedish film My Skinny Sister marks the directorial debut for Sanna Lenken, a beautifully shot, crafted drama of adolescence, anorexia, and coming-of-age. The director transfers her own anorexia history into older sister Katja, but effectively tells the story from the point of view of the concerned, observant little sister Stella. Lenken directs like a comforting breeze, in spite of the tough subject matter of eating disorders. My Skinny Sister though is ultimately a film about sisterhood, the magnetic, poignant sibling bond between Stella and Katja is apparent and affecting from the off, and is never in doubt even in their darkest cross-words. What is also refreshing is that it is the two youngsters, leads here, that get first billing on the cast list. Rightly so, this is their film, two very different but captivating, excellent performances by Rebecka Josephson and Amy Deasismont. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 17 of 20

Well, here we have 5 more films made by women. As always you are implored to seek them out and watch them at your next convenience. Here we bring back our childhood, explore immediate family ties, as well as developing new romantic bonds.

Sierra (2013) – Chelsea Christer

A project extremely close to the heart of the film-maker, Sierra was the name of Chelsea Christer’s horse, for which this delicate, emotional little drama is in honor of. Nicole Renee Jones’ Charlie, a city girl forced to reflect, rediscover, and reconnect with her family and childhood, echoes the director herself through this biographical effort – the love of horses, the blue hair, the black & white leggings are also exhibitive. Back on the ranch after a long time away in the hustle bustle of city life, Charlie has to plow through the literal change of scenery, adapting to her former way of living. The parents too, though, have to accept who she is now – a grown up woman with tattoos. The heartbreak of saying goodbye to her horse is what brings it all back to her, a kind of familiar comfort derived from forlorn circumstances. Supported gracefully by the music of Jonathan Haidle and photography of Patrick Lawler, Christer’s filmic scope, character mold, and eye for the sweeping beauty on screen, make the whole journey a poignant one. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

The Diary of a Teenage Girl (2015) – Marielle Heller

Bold and alive in its storytelling and depiction, Heller’s directorial debut is a rare film of its kind. Rare for subject matter and the way it has been dealt with in this wonderful gem. Portrayal of female experience, sexuality, growing up, turbulent and crucial age. Neither judging the central character nor defining her by the mistakes she makes on her way to self-discovery and learning. Not only that but the film truly leaves a mark for giving the character a voice of her own. So much so that she feels real. Her observations, urges, desires, be it her insecurities or basic outlook on life and her surrounding. True to its title, a frank and immensely personal account of 15-year-old Minnie Goetze. Her life, her voice, her diary. Featuring Bel Powley’s strong performance along with a competent supporting cast, it is pleasing on other technical and aesthetic fronts. Heller is a sensation to watch out for. – – – Asif Khan @KHAN2705

The Second Mother (2015) – Anna Muylaert

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival last year, The Second Mother is a Brazilian comedy / drama written and directed by Anna Muylaert. The genre blend comes from what is on the outset a collection of tough themes – estranged daughters, class divides – but executed in a manner that is boisterous and true. The mother of the title, Val (Regina Casé), is a live-in housemaid for a wealthy family in São Paulo, whose long-unseen daughter Jéssica (Camila Márdila) comes to stay in an attempt to get into university. Jéssica does not conform to the “proper” standards od such a household and tensions ensue. Muylaert’s film is quick-witted, penetrating, and smart, Casé and Márdila also nail the chemistry of a mother-daughter under strain. The Second Mother was not nominated for Best Foreign Language Film with the Academy Awards for 2015, but had I seen this earlier it would have figured somewhere in my end of year honors list. – – – Robin Write@WriteoutofLA

Paris is Burning (1990) – Jennie Livingston

Livingston’s 1990 documentary is a vibrant, celebratory look at the New York’s ballroom subculture during the 1980’s among the African-American and Hispanic gays, transgender women and drag queens. Both insightful, vivid, boosting the energy as well as sobering because of harsh realities these people face. Marginalized from a society that won’t accept who they are. Won’t include them and certainly won’t join them. Competing in competitions, judged for how well they sport a look or dance, a sense of community, family and belonging. Stylish as it is, witty as it may be, the reality of their lives gets to you. Participants give personal interviews, putting their lives right in front of us. Everything they have faced and continue to deal with every single day. Poignant and informative without reducing its subjects down to a mere surface fascination or things to be studied. The film is fiercely human and compelling in its representation. Livingston wants to know them, she listens to them and by the end, you have found a piece of yourself within these people. We all want to live the way we want to. Love who we want to. Our dreams and hopes, we all strive for them every day. We share that. – – – Asif Khan @KHAN2705

The Summer of Sangailė (2015) – Alanté Kavaïté

The framing The Summer of Sangailė is immaculate, mixing beautifully lit landscape shots, off-center close-ups, a whole host of photographic depths throughout. You’d call it dreamy if it did not feel so very real. The Lithuanian-language film, written and directed by Alantė Kavaitė, depicts a level of anxiety as well as a spontaneous, flourishing romance as the title girl is encouraged to gloss over her own self-harm when she is wooed by another. Actresses Aisté Dirziute and Julija Steponaityte (Sangailė) have an electric chemistry portraying the strong mutual attraction, their bliss is simply poetic. Kavaitė directs with a gentle, calming allure, the lingering absence of words speaks as loud as the sparse, effective dialogue. – – – Robin Write@WriteoutofLA

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 16 of 20

Simple pleasures likes music cause a stir in one remarkable movie in the next 5 films made by women. And you think Pop Idol is controversial. Continue your education here:

The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926) – Lotte Reiniger

The oldest surviving animated film in the history is a breathtaking, truly adventurous and sensuous feast for all senses. Released in 1926, it took several years and thousands of frames to make this gem by German filmmaker Lotte Reiniger, a pioneer. Several avant-garde animators of the time worked with her on this painstaking project, most prominently her husband Carl Koch who photographed it. As the title suggests, this is based on stories from the “One Thousand and One Nights”. Made using the silhouette animation technique which Reiniger herself invented, it involved cardboard cutouts manipulated under a camera. And what fantastic cutouts. Sheer cinematic, expressive storytelling. The magical wonder and awe, the romance, tale of witches and monsters of kings and magicians. It encapsulates the rich essence of its source and the medium itself. Be it film, animation or literature. The energy is well intact, it doesn’t seem least bit aged, in fact more new and wondrous than ever. Seek out this animation masterpiece which has influenced so many others. – – – Asif Khan @KHAN2705

Hounddog (2007) – Deborah Kampmeier

While what lies beneath and beyond the surface of Deborah Kampmeier’s Hounddog (writer, director, producer) is a gritty, spirited coming-of-age drama, the film has been dragging its feet in the mud ever since the over-the-top reaction to the rape scene which came out of its screening at the Sundance Film Festival. The scene in question is horrific even in its briefness, and was certainly a sucker punch, but more suggestive than graphic, and Kampmeier is careful in her framing and execution. There is a lot more to this movie, namely the then 12 year-old Dakota Fanning, playing a girl who finds comfort and inspiration in the songs of Elvis Presley during her particularly struggle-some adolescence. Hounddog was a terrific platform for Fanning, an actress with so much promise, she gives everything she has here while remaining spirited and full of poise. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Afghan Star (2009) – Havana Marking

Astute and candid, Havana Marking directs the documentary Afghan Star, which blends together the well-known elements of the troubles in Afghanistan and the reality TV song contest culture (The Taliban remember banned music during their rule). The film follows four such contestants (Afghan Star being the show’s name), Hameed, Setara, Rafi, and Lema – two men and a more unprecedented two women. Halfway through the insightful, awakening documentary we witness Setara eliminated from the contest, and she proceeds in her farewell song to not only dance freely, hips and all, but allows her hijab (Muslim head scarf) to fall. There are actual gasps from those watching backstage, and for her open-minded encouragement and free spirit Setara’s reward is to receive death threats and be evicted from her home. The documentary’s key message is also poignantly displayed in the opening scene, where a blind Afghan boy sings a song before gleefully declaring he feels happy when he listens to music. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

In Bloom (2013) – Nana Ekvtimishvili

Violence as a virus in post-Communist Georgia. Eka and Natia must navigate their adolescence in a society that has already abandoned them. Their generation lives a disconnected existence: from their elders, their responsibilities, even each other. Eka’s disconnect is double, as she is confronted with the burden of acknowledging alone the challenges this generation faces, as her peers fall unaware into pre-destined roles. As societal strictures cut through what menial advancements these two are capable of exacting, an unspoken, unavoidable struggle is born between past and future, what one is bound to do and what one endeavours to do. Nana Ekvtimishvili leaves us unsure if Eka and Natia will ever be capable of making these advancements, in a country still clinging to its past. But while it accepts its violence and abuse, it cannot ignore their repercussions, as characters mete out vengeance on others, paying forward crimes committed against them. Our passive and impassive protagonist becomes more reactionary as she is delegated responsibilities of her own, by adults who seem to expect her to be both obedient child and independent adult, and by Natia, whose questionable influence makes for the greatest adjustment. How she elects to apply her new, self-imposed duties as a mature individual forms the foundation for much of In Bloom‘s drama and tension, and it’s riveting as a result. – – – Paddy Mulholland @screenonscreen

Last Night (2010) – Massy Tadjedin

Last Night spawns the potential for heavy drama through the story-line’s injection of romance. It is misplaced romance though, or rather forbidden. Joanna (Keira Knightley) is married to Michael (Sam Worthington), and she suspects he is cheating on her with his colleague Laura (Eva Mendes), with whom he is about to embark on yet another business trip. In that time Joanna meets up with Alex (Guillaume Canet), an old flame where the fire has certainly not burned out. There are kisses, embraces, more significantly the lure and temptation to enter that emotional danger-zone. Last Night is not just pure jealousy, but also the suspicion and instinct, that sixth sense about what you fear has happened, or will. There’s a whiff of Eyes Wide Shut in it’s set up, but writer-director Massy Tadjedin makes this her own, with a steady, appropriate, and affecting pace, as well as a true intrigue into the kinetics of these over-lapping adult relationships. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 15 of 20

The despairs or romances of film-making are explored in this selection, the doubtful calm before the polarized storm. There’s a wedge of unrequited love and heart-led temptation thrown into the mix. Here are 5 more marvelous women and examples of their strong work.

My Life Directed by Nicolas Winding Refn (2014) – Liv Corfixen

Danish film-maker Nicolas Winding Refn receives some advice at the opening of his wife’s documentary, that he was not thinking about success before Drive, but afterwards he was, and this can change your creativity. Liv Corfixen wanted a family man, for her and the children – there are a couple of candid discussions between the couple, that she takes care of the home and he is working all the time. Refn goes on to describe arranging his pre-production scenes for Only God Forgives like a game of chess. We later watch Refn as Ryan Gosling plays with his children. He’s not a bad husband or father, more a dedicated film director. What else is fascinating here is that although his movies tend to export a sense of over-confidence and swagger, as the shooting for Only God Forgivesbegins Refn has some clear concerns about his own method. We know now the diverse the movie took some critical pounding in places, so those worries have greater significance now. Corfixen’s inquisitive voice then may well echo through, suggesting Refn’s creativity was indeed hindered by his lack of confidence in his own work following the overwhelming success of Drive. At under an hour you can’t help feeling the director, and wife, could have pushed her own creativity and gone for the two-hour-plus mark with this insightful behind the scenes visual account. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Speak (2004) – Jessica Sharzer

Based on the award-winning novel by Laurie Halse Anderson, Speak takes full hold of the repressed anguish suffered silently by a rape victim. Delicately directed, but never coy, by Jessica Sharzer, the high school movie with a purpose is fascinating in it’s layered execution, bringing the aftermath of such a horrid event to the surface. Back when she was 14 years-old, Kristen Stewart, who got some stick later for the Twilight movies as an actress who appears awkward and uncomfortable, makes painful alienation an art form here. Surrounded by outspoken and big-mouth teenagers – and teachers of course – Stewart’s Melinda is verbally bullied and outcast, on top of her enclosed torment, and the actress shows the doubters that she has some real talent in depth – a potential she has fulfilled in recent roles. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Anatomy of a Love Seen (2014) – Marina Rice Bader

Marina Rice Bader’s Anatomy of a Love Seen is slow, tender, and at times somewhat tortuous. It is one of those films in which nothing really seems to happen, and yet you walk away feeling emotionally wrung out. Anatomy tells the story of two queer actresses, Zoe and Mal, who began a brief but passionate love affair while shooting a film about a lesbian couple. In the intervening months between the end of that film and the beginning of this one – the one we are watching – the two women have gone through a bitter breakup from which both are still reeling. The film’s action all takes place in a single day, as the two estranged lovers are brought together to re-shoot the film’s central love scene for broadcast distribution. While it is far from a perfect movie, Anatomy has two specific pleasures to offer film fans: a movie about making movies and a lesbian romance drama that isn’t trite. The latter is clearly the more important of the film’s triumphs, and I can’t help but feel as though Bader’s decision to frame it within a metacinematic narrative is itself a comment on the paucity of good lesbian stories being filmed these days. – – – Desirae Embree @ZeeSayre

Nowhere in Africa (2001) – Caroline Link

Written and directed by Caroline Link, adapted from the autobiographical novel by Stefanie Zweig, Nowhere in Africa is a sprawling family drama. Opening in 1938, Link really takes her time, commanding a thorough story-telling navigation, as we embark with the central Redlich family who flee Nazi Germany to a farm in Kenya. They struggle in varying ways to settle in this vast new landscape (the daughter in particular), but also gain encouragement from the African community. Link handles the themes of the pre-war Jewish status in the Kenyan setting comfortably, managing to tell a rich, enduring human story. Nowhere in Africa took the Foreign Language Film prize at both the Academy Awards and the Golden Globes. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Sand Dollars (2014) – Laura Amelia Guzmán

Sand Dollars (Dólares de Arena) is set around the night dance scene and the gorgeous daytime shores of the Dominican Republic, a contrasting landscape that transfers too into the relationship of the two main characters. Noeli (Yanet Mojica) is a young woman “entertaining” tourists for money, who is in a loving relationship with the much older French woman Anne (Geraldine Chaplin). Their longings are different, Noeli using Anne as a platform to a better world, whereas Anne genuinely loves this girl. Directed by Laura Amelia Guzmán and Israel Cárdenas, they explore beautifully the tormenting themes of fear of abandonment, unrequited love, and misplaced affection. Guzmán has stated she wants to make a sequel called Noelí Overseas. – – – RobinWrite @WriteoutofLA

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 14 of 20

Depths of motherhood, psychological romance, lustful vampires, and there’s a clay animation thrown in for good measure. Here are 5 more lady-helmed motion pictures for your viewing pleasure.

Tallulah (2016) – Sian Heder

Following a couple of short films and writing credits for Orange Is the New Black (Uzo Aduba has a cunning cameo here), Sian Heder writes and directs her first feature – essentially a three-fold drama depiction of the darker side of motherhood. Heder herself was heavily pregnant when the production began with her second child, so who knows how much of her hormones shone through in her directorial execution. Tallulah is surprisingly low-key on emotive push, rather this just tells it straight, giving little exploration into the way characters roll off each other in somewhat knock-on fashion. Heder is more interested in the motherly dynamic than wanting to make your heart strings tremor, with three very different women brought together, and it is the audience, us, that are given free reign to make judgments on them and their often detrimental choices. A film with ample themes of human interest, it is the actresses that stand out. Ellen Page is fine, and Allison Janney tends to be first-rate in her sleep, while it is Tammy Blanchard who gulps up the majority of the film’s emotional gravity. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

The Lights and Then the Noise (2012) – Fran Broadhurst

Distinguished immediately by the crisp, clear black and white, The Lights and Then the Noise kicks into the sensations in both visual and audio aspects – both lights and noise are soaked in the senses, almost re-awakening them. The humming and crackling and faint music of the mundane everyday is anything but dull here. Actress Emily Taaffe expresses the awe of such taken-for-granted wonders in this very short film that aligns us with the lights and noises that bring us euphoria through seeing a band play live (No Age in this instance). Fran Broadhurst collaborates with her partner Mathy Tremewan to direct and write this 4 minute film, wanting to encapsulate some elements of the feelings from that first gig, while taking it to a place beyond the mere concrete, and tuning in to the fascinating abstract. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Vanishing Waves (2012) – Kristina Buozyte

Easy as it is to categorize Vanishing Waves, it’d be detrimental to your appreciation of the film. The point is not the elaborate visual effects, stylish art direction and scientific psychobabble. The point is the throbbing, tempestuous relationship at this film’s heart. It is, above all else, a romance, and how smart to encase this romance in the trappings of sci-fi. A romance that takes place inside the mind and only there, as is that not where all romances take place? A startlingly sensual romance too, as is the mind not also where all sensory apprehension takes place? What gloriously sensual imagery Kristina Buozyte devises, what stirring ambiance she creates for these dreamscapes, expressing the purity and intensity of sense and emotion within the brain, and the full breadth and depth of every aspect of every feeling that is awoken in the core of such absolute love. If it sounds like it’ll touch every sore spot in your psyche, don’t bother. Don’t bother with a film that features a sequence of modern dance, in the nude, in a building on a beach, inside the mind of a comatose woman. But in a dark room, late at night, on my own, I was as exhilarated by Buozyte’s vision as Lukas is, emerging from his first experience of entering someone else’s mind. – – – Paddy Mulholland @screenonscreen

$9.99 (2008) – Tatia Rosenthal

It is not every day you come across an Israel-Australia collaborated animation feature. $9.99 is an effectively rough around the edges clay animation that makes for some gritty realism, the rendering of such stop-motion animation is so good here it often surpasses the contentment of the engagement in its story and characters. There’s nothing wrong with the narrative or character development, mind, an inner-apartment ensemble, almost a non-live-action kind of soap opera. Director Tatia Rosenthal injects some compelling adult conformism (which includes some full nudity) as well as a good share of wit and melancholy. You might often get a whiff of the much later Anomalisa. There’s an array of recognizable voices working here too, including Geoffrey Rush, Anthony LaPaglia, Joel Edgerton, and Ben Mendelsohn. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

 

Kiss of the Damned (2012) – Xan Cassavetes

Kiss of the Damned is in some ways your typical vampire flick, and we don’t mind that because the infectious ethos of the vampire is a captivating concept from the outset for many. Written and directed by John Cassavetes’ daughter Alexandra “Xan” Cassavetes, this particularly retro blood-thirsty tale throws Paolo at the loving mercy of Djuna (rather easily it seems), to share her vampire status as well as her affection. Chaos ensues when the recalcitrant Mimi turns up, taking blood whenever she feels like it – perhaps making this an alternative version of Jim Jarmusch’s Only Lovers Left Alive. Cassevetes shamelessly pays as a kind of personal homage to the vampire film culture with this, a film so stylized and slick, yet has the feel of a horror film from the 1970s. The likes of Bellucci, Argento, Roeg, Carpenter, are all on Cassevetes’ fan-list. Cassevetes demonstrates a yearning to encapsulate loneliness over horror too, and although the surreal Kiss of the Damned has its flaws, it still captures a melancholic bite, dangerous sexual appetite, and a hunger you can almost taste. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 13 of 20

The next 5 films provide yet another eclectic mix of both narrative and non-fiction films, with the women standing firm behind the camera and the story creations. Perceptions, what it is like to be a girl, to perform a dance, or children of varied cultures. You may recognize one short film as a Super Bowl commercial. Dig in as always, fire your comments at me, and also buzz me if you want to know how to find and watch these enticing efforts.

Five (2015) – Katina Mercadante

Spanning five glorious religions (Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, Christian) across India, South Africa, Japan, and United States, the aptly titled Five follows five absolute gems, namely children (I’m guessing they are five years-old), as they start their day, have breakfast, put on their clothes, head off to their places of worship. This should be mundane and simple, but it is anything but. A rich, magnetic and stunning account in its religious expression and depiction of little human life. It’s a jewel of pure worldly insight in its very basis, minimal form, but still feels as refreshing and new as a splash of water. While beautifully shot and lit (by the director’s husband Daniel Mercadante) it still naturally reflects the respected cultures and environment. You would struggle to find a frame you would not want to hang on your wall and long for a lingering summer’s day. The editing is near-perfection, some shots collide walking feet or tracking children walking, some just flow from one vivid image to the next. The close up of the children’s eyes opening and closing is a poignant way to finish. Wonderful, innocent children, untainted by other parts of the world – and for these few moments we can hope it stays that way. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

#likeagirl (2014) – Lauren Greenfield

Lauren Greenfield’s senior thesis photography project on the French Aristocracy helped to start her career. She interned for National Geographic and received a grant from them to support her debut monograph. Greenfield enjoys exploring anthropology and culture through her photographs and films. In 2006, her feature-length documentary THIN was selected for the Sundance Film Festival. kids+money was her follow-up short film, which examined Los Angeles teenagers’ views on money and how it affects them. Greenfield spent several years filming and developing her documentary, Queen of Versailles, for which she received the Sundance Film Festival’s Directing Award in 2012. In 2014, Greenfield directed a commercial spot for Always called #likeagirl, which became a viral sensation, having been viewed 58 million times in the U.S. Her photographs have been published in The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, The Guardian, Vanity Fair, and National Geographic, among others, and her work has been in many major collections including the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the Smithsonian National Museum of American History, and the International Center of Photography. – – – Lauren Byrd @laurencbyrd14

In Between (2011) – Elizabeth Gracen

Elizabeth Gracen may or may not be known for winning the title of Miss America in 1982, or as American actress in the Highlander TV series. Gracen is also a film director, and has a few short films under belt. In Between is a kind of fleeting elegance, the short film clocks in at less than 4 minutes, and is essentially a solo dance. Opening with the sounds of multiple women’s voices, which seem to suggest borderline despair and euphoria. Set against a black background, the performer (choreographer Hilary Thomas) is also in black, and she almost vanishes in the scene – arms, legs, and head gracefully flow with the motion of the dance sequence. Moments from the end the visuals switch to a bright, vivid image before the titles roll. Claimed to be an experimental dance piece which “explores our willingness to let go of the fear associated with change, the unknown and death.”. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (2007) – Kim Longinotto

Kim Longinotto is British documentary film-maker (of Italian descent) who has crammed her impressive résume with observational, enlightening projects focusing on the plights of women, girls, showing them as inspiring amidst the hardships. Children too can follow similar life arcs, as demonstrated in Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go, a documentary which visits the Mulberry Bush School in Oxford. The school is a kind of last chance saloon for many “problem kids”, and Longinotto’s exposing film simply sits back and watches the potential young redemption unfold. There’s examples of truly bad behavior here from some of these children, and also some rewarding moments in all, making this often touching and poignant in its devotion to a young chapter of social anthropology in the broad and essential discourse of education. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Wanda (1970) – Barbara Loden

Loden, who directed, wrote and starred in the titular role wasn’t able to direct another film because of her death by cancer. This was released in 1970, shown at Venice Film Festival to acclaim but wasn’t given much attention back home. She made this film with a crew of four, largely non-actors, two professional actors including herself and much of it resulted because of the improvisation between the two. Wanda is shot and edited in a cinema verite style, the subject drifting through a very harsh reality that is her life. An abused woman at every turn without anything or anyone to fight back against. She is treated as an object at her home which she leaves, on the run, robbed, assaulted, beaten. Ambiguous in nature, a more observant, visceral and sharply edited depiction that defies easy terms upon which to filter the narrative or its characters. The naturalism, stark and sometimes savagely comical, brutal blow of a film will undoubtedly leave many of you divided but the titular Wanda… you won’t forget her. – – – Asif Khan@KHAN2705

Originally published in August 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 12 of 20

The breakable glue of adult relationships, the search for one’s freedom, fictionalizing an iconic British political figure. And documentaries, unmissable accounts exposing the horrific lifestyles of children, delving deep into the life a legendary singer, suffering mothers of the third world. Educate yourself some more with the following extraordinary film-making from women.

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids (2004) – Zana Briski

Winning the 2004 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, Born into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids is produced, written, and directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. A documentary where Briski, a photographer, puts herself slap bang in the centre of a group of children (the title is pretty self-explanatory) and forms a bond with them as she shares and encourages her own passion for taking pictures. A shared education and compassion all around. Criticized, and causing quite a stir, with claims it broke the laws of ethical film-making and was somehow glorifying the illegal events it depicts (both notions something tons of documentaries have to accept each year). Briski took a brave step to force our eyes open, and keep them that way. We miss way too much of what really goes on in the world, so let’s not shoot the messenger, one who brings art and truth into the blind-spot reality. Watching the kids and Briski interact certainly has its fair share of emotive moments. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Everyone Else (2009) – Maren Ade

A German couple take a break in Sardinia, introverted, moody Chris (Lars Eidinger), and quirky, carefree Gitti (Birgit Minichmayr) are an odd couple on the surface, that somehow fit. Maren Ade proves a talent for the casual, observational drama, while drip-feeding a true-sense of everyday comedy we all experience (something she received plaudits for with her recent Cannes entry Toni Erdmann). Adult relationship dynamics though are the main course here, and Ade has a deft touch at allowing us to see that the freedom of alone time and vacation can have its emotional pitfalls. Chris and Gitti’s casual banter demonstrates some romance, but also a more fragile bond after all, as they find natural ways to nit-pit at each other’s indiscretions. Fascinating to watch both excellent actors play out the greater significance of the smaller things between a loving couple, in particular Minichmayr who demonstrates that her character has the greater capacity to be noticeably affected by such events. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015) – Liz Garbus

What Happened, Miss Simone? by Liz Garbus is a wonder to behold. A master of documentary film-making, with a resume that includes the seminal works The Farm: Angola U.S.A., Girlhood, and Bobby Fisher Against the World, Garbus’ Miss Simone skillfully reflects on Nina Simone’s musical genius, her tumultuous journey from small town child prodigy to pop superstar, and her ongoing struggle with mental illness. The film shows Simone’s role as an outspoken civil rights advocate, and how in turn that makes her a showbiz outcast. Perhaps the most powerful moments in the film are when we hear Simone’s daughter talk about the mental and physical abuse that Nina both received and dished out. Filled with previously unseen interviews and musical performances, Garbus shows us the pitfalls of success, and just how close genius and madness oftentimes are. From a musical standpoint, the film highlights most of Simone’s most important works, and gives viewers unfamiliar with her work a great introduction to that unmistakable voice that was so full of pain and sadness and love and hate. Like all great works of art, What Happened, Miss Simone? stays with you long after you first encounter it. In the end it leaves you black and blue and with a dull ache and sadness as you discover that ultimately what drove Simone to be such a brilliant artist also brought her so much suffering. – – – Tim J. Krieg @FiveStarFlicks

The Iron Lady (2011) – Phyllida Lloyd

So Meryl Streep finally got her Oscar. Her third, that is. The discussions around poor Viola Davis may still echo in the film world, but it is much more often than not difficult to argue against Streep. Phyllida Lloyd’s take on chapters of the life of Britain’s first Prime Minister is perhaps less grand than we perhaps anticipated, and far more bittersweet – that the iron lady of the title was in fact a human being who could fall to illnesses like dementia. We know a lot of the history like the back of our hand, so it might be refreshing to see the personal, later-life side of Thatcher, even if it is terribly sad at times. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

A Walk to Beautiful (2007) – Mary Olive Smith

Mary Olive Smith’s awakening documentary A Walk to Beautiful (broadcast on television on NOVA on PBS) won an Emmy for Outstanding Informational Programming – Long Form. It’s a diamond amidst the rough. A heart-swirling take on five Ethiopian women not only having to suffer physical turmoil of childbirth injuries, but also facing being shut out by their families and community. Their medical conditions arise from the lack of heath care and the very real and extreme poverty they experience. Their spiritual and actual journey take them to the Fistula Hospital, where these extraordinary women can be treated. Accustomed to the conditions they could have only imagined are still tough to comprehend for them, so on the flip-side, when proper care and support is provided to these women in their physical conditions, their reactions hold an endearing apprehension. “I have come home cured. Share my joy.” one young woman says to her father as they embrace on her return. Wonderful. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Originally published in July 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 11 of 20

Into the second half of the 100 More Films Made By Women I have to confess that this is a terrific experience projecting these filmmakers into your eagerly-awaiting stratosphere. And these rare gems of varying film formats and subject matter are worth the wait. The next two parts, piercing, essential themes of motherhood, sisterhood, girlhood, glimpses of underwater love and loss, are all exampled here in fine style.

Elena (2013) – Petra Costa

Documentary films have an abundance of ammo to which they can execute something truly persuasive or informative, or even enlighten and engage an audience. Elena is a fascinating, visual feast, a beautiful document of grief, pain, despair, that incorporates many formats and tools without appearing to pander or sentimentalize. Brazilian film-maker Petra Costa has the ambient melancholy of her late sister Elena’s woes and potential safely in her hands, cradling them with all the love and loss one can embrace. Blending through audio tracks, letters, grainy home video footage, childhood photos, current serene images of Petra, accompanied by poignant music and gorgeous cinematography, Elena is a rich mosaic of a sister’s memories and mourning. It’s an extremely personal journey then, blissful and sorrowful, crafting dreamy imagery and a poetic expression, the story of depression and squashed ambition is somehow alluring, both visually and in its story-telling. Even the unforgettable sight of the women floating through shimmering waters is a thing of beauty as well as sadness. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Advantageous (2015) – Jennifer Phang

Written, directed, and cast almost entirely of non-white women, Advantageous is a futuristic dystopia in which human labor has been almost completely replaced by tech. Society’s answer is, of course, to try and maneuver women back into the home, thus freeing up remaining jobs for men. The result is that being a single woman – or worse, being a single mother – is nearly impossible. Advantageous taps into a range of feminist issues including aging, beauty labor, motherhood, personhood, and class in a way that’s both timely and otherworldly. Visually, the film is stunning in its ability to depict a world that is uncannily familiar and yet futuristically strange, a delicate balance that only the best sci-fi is able to strike. Lead actress Jacqueline Kim, who co-authored the screenplay with director Jennifer Phang, communicates her character’s frustration and sadness with elegant honesty that is accentuated to perfection by the sparse soundtrack. Overall, Advantageous only proves the point being constantly voiced by women in the industry: it is important for the quality of cinema going forward that diversity in film-making be the rule and not the exception. – – – Desirae Embree @ZeeSayre

Clear Blue (2010) – Lindsay MacKay

Writer-director Lindsay MacKay has been to the Toronto International Film Festival, the South by Southwest festival, AFI Fest, and has made finalist at the Zoetrope Screenwriting Competition. Envious. Her various accolades include her college graduate thesis, the short film Clear Blue – which won the College Television Award. Like undisturbed water, visually, Clear Blue has a calming, slow-moving pallet, it has you drifting into its story space, and engulfing you in the small wonder. Only 20 minutes in length, it plunges gently to many depths, following a young lifeguard of a swimming baths, intrigued by the old lady who submerges under the water. His temptation is too much, and he finds himself under water with her, only a much younger woman. What follows is an ebb and flow of the senses, building gently towards the unexpected climax. It’s a fine short, well directed and acted, crammed with crisp clear sound design, and some enticing photography. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Me Without You (2001) – Sandra Goldbacher

Films about female companionship have over the decades bounced around the dramatic, the sentimental, and the comic – Me Without You delivers heavy on the raw, revealing ventures of two girls growing up from young girls into flourishing adults. This is certainly not all hop-scotch and hair-braiding from British writer-director Sandra Goldbacher, who has her leading ladies exude brutal honesty, bags of dodgy loyalty, but a true sense of unbreakable, though dentable, friendship. Goldbacher’s visual style is evident too, of both era accuracy and emotional impact, also not shying away from the swearing and the nudity. A hell of a lot of credit though goes to Michelle Williams and Anna Friel, both excelling in all scenarios, two terrific, accomplished performers chewing up all the dialogue and scenery they can get. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Brave (2012) – Brenda Chapman

Brave is a film created by Pixar, that for the first time had a female lead character, and a female director, Brenda Chapman (co-directed by Mark Andrews). Brave is the story of Merida (voiced wonderfully by Kelly Macdonald) who is a princess during the time when Braveheart took place. Her parents are forcing her to choose a husband between 3 dopey guys. She’s not interested in getting married, and runs off. She discovers a witch, who ends up giving her a spell to put on her mother so she would change. Once her mother comes under the spell it turns her into a bear. They spend the rest of the film trying to figure out how to get her to turn back into a human, and in turn learn about each other and become closer as mother-and-daughter. It’s a cute story, and the animation is wonderful. I think that Brenda Chapman as director gave it the touch it needed that a male director by himself would not have been able to give it. It’s a good morality tale, and an enjoyable film. – – – Al Robinson @AlRob_MN

Originally published in July 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 10 of 20

Some productions so small in scale, budget, and running time, can sit alongside films made by iconic women also know for their singing and acting. As we reach the half-way point of our second helping of 100 films made by women we include an Oscar-less lady and characters with boxes for heads..

Corrugated Hearts (2010) – Billimarie Robinson

You would have to ask writer, director, producer Billimarie Robinson what was going through her creative veins when she conceived the idea for a short amateur film where the characters have cardboard boxes or heads, marker pen facial expression change with each tiny plot development. The commercial reminiscent voices at the opening talk about heads shaped differently from ours, and different ideas. When the main male character rejects a 3.0 up grade there’s a real heavy layer of melancholy, which is blended with some rather haphazardly effective editing and music. Without any real dialogue or formulaic narrative Corrugated Hearts still provides a kind of love story, while also touching on the fickle TV culture, the disposableness of the human heart, as well as a strong whiff of the artificial intelligence element. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

The Dresser (2014) – Mary Neely

Mary Neely crams a lot into the short film The Dresser at less than twelve minutes, it has plenty of witty sharp edges and quirky moments. What Neely also has in abundance is her own input, not only does she write, produce, and direct the short comedy, she also edited it, and plays the central role of Sofia. Sofia bumps into David while filming a scene, but he is moving to New York City the very next morning, and Sofia’s urgency to hook up with him goes into neurotic overdrive. Sofia hatches a scheme to buy the dresser of the title (he has yet to sell all his furniture), hoping she can cancel the sale when she has him alone. But he has a group of friends over, and soon her plans are scuppered. Several back-and-forth phone calls between Sofia and her friend Deb also chime in with snappy humor – when Deb says she is making baklava, Sofia responds “I have no idea what you just said, but save me some.”. Funnily enough it seems Deb who is the most flat out exhausted from making the Greek delicacy than her friend’s one hundred miles an hour emotional drive. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

American Splendor (2003) – Shari Springer Berman

American Splendor is an incredibly difficult film to categorize. Co-directed by Shari Springer-Berman and Robert Pulcini, Splendor seamlessly blends elements of comedy, drama, biography, documentary and animation into one of the most original films of this century. The film focuses on comic book writer Harvey Pekar and his wife Joyce Brabner, using documentary footage of the couple along with filmed segments where the pair are played wonderfully by actors Paul Giamatti and Hope Davis, along with animated segments of the couple. Splendor is daring in both its visuals and its storytelling, and gives us an inside look into the mind and creative process of one of the most idiosyncratic artists of modern times. – – – Tim J. Krieg @FiveStarFlicks

The Prince of Tides (1991) – Barbra Streisand

There’s arguments for those not nominated with AMPAS, for instance how films like The Fisher King, Thelma & Louise, Barton Fink, and Boyz n the Hood did not make the Best Picture cut in 1992. But we are talking about female directors here, and famously how Barbara Streisand failed to make the Director line-up for The Prince of Tides, a film with seven nominations including Best Picture. Years earlier, she directed Yentl, which also failed to make an impact with the big Oscar categories – but she did win the Golden Globe for Best Director. The Prince of Tides was well-liked, based on the Pat Conroy novel, Streisand cast herself opposite Nick Nolte in an emotional family / romantic drama. Nolte’s teacher and coach Tom heads off to New York following his sister’s attempted suicide and strikes up a gradual bond with psychiatrist played by Streisand. The film tackles all manner of heavy subjects as Tom reluctantly digs up the secrets of abusive and betrayal within his family life both in the distant past and very recently. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Just Another Girl On the I.R.T. (1992) – Leslie Harris

The relentless burst of the American Independent Cinema in the late 80s and early 90s often tackled the very journey to your true identity in the world, your voice, your dreams. Films like Slacker (Richard Linklater), The Unbelievable Truth(Hal Hartley), Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant) Gas, Food Lodging (Allison Anders), Go Fish (Rose Troche), Metropolitan (Whit Stillman) all reflected in their narratives the growing corner of the film industry itself. Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. was no exception, written, produced, and directed by Leslie Harris (surprisingly her only film), the plucky little movie tells the story of teenage Chantel (Ariyan A. Johnson), thriving in high school and full to the brim with ambition, but lacking in a certain humility who cannot keep her mouth or ego in check. An important look at the struggling working class in Brooklyn, Harris’ film is an engaging depiction of an African-American girl wanting to break the shackles and find a better life for herself. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Originally published in July 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 9 of 20

The scope of female film-makers transcends the mere role they have in the big bad film industry. They are greater than you assume. Track down each one of these as per usual and see them for yourself.

Silent House (2011) – Laura Lau

The notion of a young woman marooned inside a dark, spooky little house is a horror staple, yet Silent House has a real knack of grabbing hold of you tight and hardly letting you go by the end titles. Co-directed by Chris Kentis and Laura Lau, the big gold star goes to the incredible illusion that the movie is shot in real time and all one continuous take. It certainly adds to the feeling of suffocation and doom, as does the startling sound design, though the whole production is a replica of the Uruguayan original La casa muda (The Silent House). At the center of the scary movie is Elizabeth Olsen – who enrolled into a very different kind of social fear in Martha Marcy May Marlene. The camera sticks to Olsen like glue, we the audience feel we are trapped inside the house of bludgeoning horrors with her, she’s an actress who manages to keep the relentless shock on her face chilling and fresh throughout. – – – Robin Write@WriteoutofLA

Craig’s Wife (1936) – Dorothy Arzner

It is no secret that Hollywood’s Golden Age was by and large an era of film-making dominated by men. Men ran the studios, ran the stars and starlets, and ran the pictures. However, at a moment when women weren’t encourage to have careers at all, much less careers in male-dominated industries like film-making, there was Dorothy Arzner—out lesbian, film editor and director, launcher of careers, maker of fabulous films. You can’t really go wrong with anything in her oeuvre, but there is something about Craig’s Wife that really punctures one’s heart. On the surface, it is the story of a domineering and materialistic housewife, played to perfection by Rosalind Russell, whose frigidity and callousness alienate everyone around her, leaving her ultimately alone. However, if one digs under the surface, Craig’s Wife is also a film about a woman shaped by the fiercely patriarchal society in which she lives, and one can read Harriet’s callousness as a maladaptive behavior learned through exploitation and constraint. The ambiguity of women’s stories is something that Arzner excelled at delivering, and as a coded woman’s text, Craig’s Wife is unparalleled. – – – Desirae Embree @ZeeSayre

Mansfield Park (1999) – Patricia Rozema

Based on the Jane Austen’s novel, Mansfield Park is written and directed by Canadian Patricia Rozema (I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing), who adds her own little narrative touches without damaging the adaptation. We still delve into social disruption and well-being restoration – the outcome of marriage proposals cause no end of headaches here. Rozema’s camera too shakily roams around, giving an authentic sense of space, inspiring given the familiar literary discourse. The main story sees Fanny Price, who is sent to live with her wealthy aunt and uncle as a child and we later join her as a young adult (a splendid Frances O’Connor) – Fanny is not exactly the black sheep of the family but is certainly not held is as high regard as her cousins. Bubbling under the surface is the developing friendship with Edmund, the chemistry between O’Connor and Jonny Lee Miller is one of the most enticing elements of a perfectly delightful film. Other recognizable faces impressively playing their part include Hugh Bonneville, James Purefoy, Embeth Davidtz, Alessandro Nivola, Sophia Myles, and Lindsay Duncan. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

The Invitation (2015) – Karyn Kusama

The Invitation perfectly and sprawlingly sets up the kind of adult dinner party you would rather, well, not be invited to. That’s not a negative on the movie itself, rather the premise puts together a group of people, and a set of prickly scenarios, a woman passing via a laptop screening, fresh memories of a lost child, adds to a head-scratching suggestion these people were once actual friends. Slow-burning, taut drama turns gradually to psychological thriller, almost horror, which turns out pretty deadly indeed. Hitting the heights of her first feature Girlfight, Karyn Kusama (backed by Gamechanger Films, advocates of movies made by women) conveys the right amount of awkward and tension, with no fat, and does not fall into tatty, B movie territory we’ve seen so many movies of this kind slip into. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Disorder (2015) – Alice Winocour

Alice Winocour’s Disorder is one big, inconsequential foil, a collection of scenes and suggestions that add up to much less than promised. And what a thrilling foil it is, as an example of true technical mastery, and as a smart, understated sub-textual tease. Winocour interweaves elements of this depth and complexity in such a simple, natural manner that she leaves Disorder’s straightforward surface undisturbed, whilst introducing gentle undercurrents of suspicion and mistrust. Disorder follows through on its genre promises, revealing itself to be exactly what it appears, giving its wily winks in the direction of dramatic import a cheeky charm, somewhat mitigating their otherwise obvious insipidness. Winocour launches her film into pure thriller territory, relying on the superb skills of sensory suggestion she’s heretofore used more sparingly (though equally successfully). Brilliant blocking and terrific sound design (including fine soundtrack choices and an admirably unobtrusive score by Gesaffelstein) make for a marvelously tense third act. And Matthias Schoenaerts’ performance is an ideal match, both in purpose and in quality – his hulking physique as pitch-perfect as his emotional intensity. – – – Paddy Mulholland @screenonscreen

Originally published in July 2016.

100 More Films Made By Women – Part 8 of 20

Here we have 5 more far from “girly” films at your disposal. Girls that can cut into a marriage bond, that can gyrate inappropriately at a children’s party, that can sit naked on a radio show horrors, that bring doom to their newlywed status. You get the picture. Or at least, you ought to. Read on..

Private Parts (1997) – Betty Thomas

Superbly directed by Betty Thomas, Howard Stern’s autobiographical film Private Parts is a masterclass in biopic storytelling. The film uses Annie Hall-type flashbacks to follow Stern’s journey from small town nobody to aspiring D.J. to eventual superstardom as the self-proclaimed “King of All Media”. Upon release in 1997 few people in the general public knew much about Stern’s personal life, especially the fact that he had a softer more human side, which the film explores wonderfully. It also shows how Stern put together his motley crew of sidekicks, who all played themselves in the film. Perhaps the best parts of the film though are the scenes where Stern spars with WNBC’s producer Kenny (Paul Giamatti), whom Stern affectionately calls “Pig Vomit”. Their ongoing battles are some of the supreme back-and-forths in all of comedic cinema history. – – – Tim J. Krieg @FiveStarFlicks

Honeymoon (2014) – Leigh Janiak

It’s a common ideology that couples marry and can somehow alter in themselves or the relationships they have lovingly embarked on. For Bea (Rose Leslie, Ygritte in Game of Thrones) and Paul (Harry Treadaway) in the eerie picture Honeymoon the newly-wed changes are of a very different nature altogether. First-time director Leigh Janiak appears to have no debut nerves here, crafting a familiar cabin-in-the-woods format horror, with human deterioration, psychological wonder, and body invasion aplenty. Knocking at the door of utter madness at times, the film deserves some credit for messing with your own nervous system as an audience member, and ultimately leaving you uncomfortable by the film’s ambiguous ending. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Pitch Perfect 2 (2015) – Elizabeth Banks

The Barden Bellas are back! After winning the college a capella championship in the first film, they have gone on tour, but end up embarrassing themselves. This causes them to lose their right to perform competitively. To get their rights to compete back, they decide to enter an international a capella competition. Though this one isn’t as good as the first Pitch Perfect, it’s still a funny and satisfying film. What makes it great is the great performances by Anna Kendrick, Rebel Wilson, and newcomer to the Bellas, Hailee Steinfeld. It’s extra satisfying that Elizabeth Banks did double time by having a small role in the film, and directing it herself. What Banks did in the end was help the Bellas to find their voice again, and to remember that they’re the best. – – – Al Robinson @AlRob_MN

Sleeping with Other People (2015) – Leslye Headland

Premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, perky romantic comedy Sleeping With Other People punches above the weight of the standard rom-com being churned out these days. This is largely due to Leslye Headland, not only writing a screenplay with some accomplished, genuine relationship and sexual humor, and frank observations, but also for directing an adult comedy that never loses its edge or where it’s going. Jason Sudeikis, as Jake, and Alison Brie, as Lainey have an excellent screen presence, both timely in their wit and delivery, but also demonstrate a compelling, believable on-screen chemistry. – – –Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Nobody Walks (2012) – Ry Russo-Young

Also at Sundance, director Ry Russo-Young scooped a special Jury Prize in 2012 for Nobody Walks. The film is a rather beguiling but grounded indie drama, focusing on family life at roots level, and inviting a potentially damaging element to disrupt the unity. John Krasinski and Rosemarie DeWitt are seemingly trouble-free in their marriage with two kids, that is until Martine (Olivia Thirlby, Juno‘s best friend), an art student in her early twenties comes to stay in their pool house to complete her project. Whether her agenda or not, as the father helps her with her art film and impresses on her some mellow flirtations, Martine eventually lures him into a brief sexual liaison that will have consequences extremely hard to come back from for all concerned. – – – Robin Write @WriteoutofLA

Originally published in June 2016.