Category Archives: Female Filmmaker Friday
Female Filmmaker Friday: Night Catches Us, 2010 (dir. Tanya Hamilton)
I had been meaning to watch this movie since it first came out because after The Hurt Locker, I had fallen irrevocably in love with Anthony Mackie, yet somehow I didn’t see this movie til a few months ago. It’s still on Netflix, for those who also have been meaning to watch it and haven’t done so yet.
Female Filmmaker Friday: Something New, 2006 (dir. Sanaa Hamri)
I actually talked a little bit about this film earlier this week on my new video series on YouTube, but I wanted to write about it as well because I fell head over heels for this film. It was written by Kriss Turner and directed by Sanaa Hamri and as far as I can tell, this is both women’s only feature film to date, which is a real shame. This film follows the rom-com structure perfectly, but is also full of wonderfully layered characters and packed with social/racial commentary.
Female Filmmaker Friday: Middle of Nowhere, 2012 (dir. Ava DuVernay)
I watched this a few weeks ago when it debuted on Netflix and I was blown away. I wish I had written about it right away, though, because I was going to recommend you all go watch it, but it appears to be not available on Netflix anymore (and it’s not on DVD!) It’s aired on BET before, so hopefully it will again. I know the film was distributed by DuVernay herself, so perhaps that’s part of the reason it’s unavailable (distribution, in theaters or digitally or home video, is super expensive!) I’ll keep you updated if it becomes available, because this is an important film. I remember when it first came out in theaters, it was when I was still living in San Francisco, and it was only playing in one theater and it was quite the bus ride away, but I was determined to go, but then when I finally had the time to go it was gone! But this film was definitely worth the wait and I hope it becomes available on home video sometime soon, because it is beautifully layered (DuVernay won the Best Director award for her work at the Sundance Film Festival!) and deserves multiple re-watchings.
Female Filmmaker Friday: Meshes of the Afternoon, 1943 (dir. Maya Deren & Alexander Hammid)
I’ve been wanting to write about Maya Deren for a while now. She’s an interesting figure in the 1940s and 1950s American experimental and avant-garde film scene. She’s a filmmaker I’m sure has inspired lots of contemporary psychological filmmakers like David Lynch and David Cronenberg. Deren is interesting for a couple of reasons, but one of the things I love the most about her story is how “American Dream” it is. She immigrated with her parents in the 1920s, attended various schools (including NYU and Smith), where she received Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in literature (in the 1930s!), then became part of the émigré art scene in Greenwich Village before eventually moving to Los Angeles. There really ought to be a biopic about her already! Meshes of the Afternoon is a personal film in many senses; it was filmed on a 16mm camera Deren bought with some inheritance after her father died and it tells of female subjectivity, loneliness and confusion. Deren was a woman who embraced her artistic and political freedoms in a time when this was still frowned upon by much of society (all the 1930s were much better for women than the post-war 1950s). There’s some debate as to whether this project was equally created by wife and husband, or if more of the credit should go to her husband Alexander Hammid. Filmmaker and friend Stan Brakhage claims the film was mostly Hammid’s creation and that part of why their marriage fell apart was because Deren got most of the credit. I find that interesting because if it is true, it really speaks to fragility of the male (and artist’s) ego. But I also doubt it’s as much Hammid’s creation as Brakhage claims, partially due to how similar it is to the rest of Deren’s solo work, and partially because the ideas embedded in the film feel so intrinsically female. I’m not going to dissect all the symbolism in Meshes of the Afternoon, but rather embed the film below and let you watch it for yourself (it’s about 13 minutes). If you enjoy it, you can find most (if not all) of Deren’s work on YouTube for your viewing pleasure.
After you watch the film (srsly, it’s 13 minutes so you have no excuse), let me know what you think!
Female Filmmaker Friday: Sweetie, 1989 (dir. Jane Campion)
I saw this for the first time a few weeks back. It is Jane Campion’s feature film debut and it is fucking gorgeously shot. Shout out to cinematographer Sally Bongers for capturing Campion’s unique vision! It’s also really fucking bittersweet and strange. That said, I don’t really want to spoil the twists and turns too much, so mostly I’m going to focus this week on some arresting shots that have haunted me for the last few weeks.
Female Filmmaker Friday: A Little Bit of Heaven, 2012 (dir. Nicole Kassell)
I first watched this movie last summer because it was on Netflix and I was in the mood for a rom-com. This film looked cute, but it was widely panned by critics. But, it was written and directed by women and since I was trying to watch more film (especially rom-coms) written by women, I watched it anyways. What I discovered was a perfectly fine rom-com that is nowhere near as terrible (actually it’s quite good!) than you would think from the reviews. I’ve been meaning to write about it for almost a year now, so I had to rewatch it to get all my points fresh. I’m not going to write about everything in the film that I find fascinating, just the highlights. It’s still streaming on Netflix, so you can watch it real quick before you read this or you can watch it after; either way I urge you to check it out, especially if you like rom-coms.
Female Filmmaker Friday: Used People, 1992 (dir. Beeban Kidron)
I had never heard of this movie until I started working at Warner Archive Collection last year and when I saw that they had a movie with Marcello Mastroianni in it, I just had to watch it. I finally got around to watching it earlier this week and discovered that it was in fact directed by a woman (Kidron also directed To Wong Foo among other things). I’m glad I waited so long to watch it because I’ve learned a lot in the last few months from things I’ve read and conversations I’ve had with women and I think I wouldn’t have appreciated this movie as much if I had watched it earlier.
Female Filmmaker Friday: Bend It Like Beckham, 2002 (dir. Gurinder Chadha)
This movie did not come to my hometown theater and I was dyyyyying to see it. I think it finally was available to rent after Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl came out in theaters. Of course, my hometown rental store mostly had “full frame” VHS tapes and a few “full frame” DVDs at that time, so odds are I saw a really shitty version. But I do remember distinctly watching it with my best friend Sadie (we were both in track and field at the time) and we both loved it so much. I think this kind of movie is really important for the development of the self-esteem of young girls. We need more positive, complex movies like this.
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Female Filmmaker Friday: A League of Their Own, 1992 (dir. Penny Marshall)
I can’t even remember the first time I saw this film, but I know I was very young. I’m not a big baseball fan. I never have been. But I love this film. I love what it represents and I love this history that is showcases. I love the characters and I love the costume design and I love the story and basically, I just love this movie.
Female Filmmaker Friday: Dogfight, 1991 (dir. Nancy Savoca)
I first saw this film last summer and was shocked that I had never seen it before. It’s so my kind of film, but somehow over the years it slipped past my radar. It’s one of those films that is insanely touching, without once ever being schmaltzy. This post is spoilery.
the diary of a film history fanatic 