WomenCinemakers, Special Edition, Vol.39 by WomenCinemakers

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ALLISON WALSH CAROLINE STUCKY BRITT FISHELL KATIE DAMIEN ASHLEY O’NEAL NORA JAENICKE RANIA IRAKI MARIT-SHIRIN FOGELGREN DANIELLA DAHOUI ANNA LUCCHESE

INDEPENDENT

WOMEN’S CINEMA

cINEMAKERS W O M E N

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Contents 04 Nora Jaenicke

136 Katie Damien

Whales

Joint Effort

158

Caroline Stucky

Ashley O'Neal

Lily in the Ruins

186

Daniella Dahoui

Britt Fishel

212

Anna Lucchese

Marit-Shirin Fogelgren

Claire and Me

billet-doux

Identities

IN BETWEEN

114

234

Rania Iraki

Allison Walsh

2.17 AM

Parallel Lines

Women Cinemakers meets

Nora Jaenicke Lives and works on New York City, USA

Margot and her estranged sister Louise spend a week at their recently deceased mother's house on an Italian Island. There are mysterious circumstances surrounding Louise being sent away at a very young age, which make it difficult for Margot to remember...Separated by the passing of time and different upbringings the two women unexpectedly find their lives linked back together by the forces and remembrance and forgiveness.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Ambitiously constructed and marked out with gorgeous cinematography, Whales is a captivating work by filmmaker Nora Jaenicke: when walking the viewers through Margot and Louise epiphanic journey through the dynamics of their family, she triggers their perceptual categories with such a tapestry of images, creating effective mesmerizing narration: we are particularly pleased to introduce

our readers to Jaenicke's captivating and multifaceted artistic production. : Hello Nora and welcome to before starting to elaborate about your artistic production, we would ask you some questions about your background. You have a solid formal training and you studied Film at the European Institute of Design in Rome and Screenwriting at Vancouver Film School. Moreover, you later nurtured your education in Psychology and Creative Writing at the prestigious Harvard University: how did these experiences influence the evolution of your practice as a filmmaker?

I always enjoyed watching films. Out of all the artistic mediums, film has always been the one that fascinated me the most, as it is born out of the conversion of all these different art forms: You have the design of the sets, the costumes, the cinematography, music, the actor’s talent, the screenplay as well as the overall vision that is born out of all these art forms coming together. I remember watching Volver by Almodovar back in the day during my studies in Rome, and I went back to the theatre to see that film five times, that’s how impressed I was bit it. I kept discovering different layers to it, every time I would go back: Different camera angles and techniques, different subtle nuances. There is so much more to it than what meets the eye. This is what makes Almodovar such a master at story telling. And his films definitely carry that vision that is so unique to him. I think that my academic background has influenced my craft, but more than the years spent in school, it is the real life experiences which brought me closer to certain themes that I then felt compelled to explore through film making: That and the many films I watched. A few years ago, I wasn’t able to return home to see my family for three years because of some unexpected green card processing issues. When I read about the condition of immigrants who spend years, and sometimes their whole life, not being able to return to their homes, I couldn’t imagine how that must feel like: To be separated from where you are from for so long – sometimes forever.

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A still from Whales

Women Cinemakers

A still from Whales

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Women Cinemakers

I decided to make a film about the condition of these immigrants, in my filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s case, the condition of Filipino nannies who are separated from their own children in order to work and send them the money needed for an education. I also worked as a babysitter for a long time, while studying, so I am familiar with taking care of someone else's child. The thought of a mother being separated from her child, simply for providing them with an education, gave me shivers. And I would meet these women all the time, while at the playground with the kids I was babysitting here in New York City. That's how I decided to write the screenplay of my film Joyce, that is currently in post production. I wanted to give these women a voice. I wanted their story and the extraordinariness of their sacrifices a voice. I also wrote about breakups, wanting to manipulate time in order to move on from the pain of losing someone dear to us, (theme of my film Between Seconds which is just finishing its festival rounds) because these are pretty universal themes, that affected myself as well as many others throughout the course of their lives. I believe that this is what got the film into so many festivals. The fact that it deals with themes that so many people can relate to. In Whales I explore the theme of sisterhood and family secrets. This has always been a very touching topic for me, and I had wanted to write about if for a very long time. I developed a very early draft of Whales in 2007 while studying Screenwriting at Vancouver Film School, but the

A still from Whales

Women Cinemakers story came from somewhere else. To be honest, I don’t think that you can learn how to write. What you can learn is to cultivate the passion to sit down with a story and develop it, sit with it, draft after draft, until it becomes what it’s meant to be, but the content comes from within, and our life and way of looking at the world is what influences that the most. Nobody can really teach you how to do that. I went back for my bachelors in Creative Writing and Psychology when I was way older, after having worked in the corporate world for many years. I also graduated from film school at the peak of the 2008 global recession. Back then it was hard to find any kind of job, so I felt very lucky when I was given the opportunity to work in business development for an advertising firm in Manhattan. I was finally making money and living independently. During those years I had to put my dream of becoming a film maker on hold. However, whenever I would walk past a film set, I would feel that longing again: That feeling that telling stories, writing and directing my own films, was what I was meant to do. Going back to school for a full degree became an option, only when I went through some work permit issues due to my Green card. Not being able to leave the US and not being able to work I applied for a scholarship at Harvard to deepen my studied in two areas that had always been fascinating to me: Psychology and Creative Writing: Understanding people’s motives, what they do and why, their hidden intentions, the discrepancy between what they say and who they really are, what they really mean… These are all

A still from Whales questions that I want to explore in my stories. The fact that I went back to school after years of “real life experiences” made it all very fascinating again. I went at it with an “intellectual hunger” that I didn’t have back when I was in my early twenties. I was in a limbo state, waiting for my papers, when I was given the opportunity to expand my knowledge at one of the world’s top University on a full scholarship.

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I feel truly blessed for this opportunity, but I wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t say that these were the years that shaped my world view. These were the years that gave me the time to do something with what life had taught me through direct experience: working in the corporate world, getting fired, losing someone dear, falling in and out of love, suffering from depression, traveling and exploring new ways of living and being in the worldâ&#x20AC;Ś Real life is what

shaped my way of looking at the world, not the academic world. Moreover, how does your cultural substratum due to your German roots and your early life in Italy direct the trajectory of your artistic research? Being a German raised in Italy, I could always relate to stories about the need to belong and cultural

A still from Whales differences. I enjoy living in New York for this reason: Nobody asks you “well, but what are you? German or Italian?”. You are just a part of the big melting pot. You are just one of many. And everyone is from all over the world. It feels like I belong because nobody belongs and yet everyone is in it together. We are all New Yorkers.

In my film Whales I deal with this topic as well: The family members of this psychological drama-thriller are all from the US, and yet they moved to Italy, so they are expats. They live in this bubble, and are somewhat isolated from everyone else. I am very familiar with this feeling. This sense of living on an “island” quite literary, somehow separated and different…. For this special edition of

Women Cinemakers I wrote an early draft of Whales way back during film school, when I was studying screenwriting, and the idea wouldn’t let me go, until I made this film, which is just the short film version of a feature that I am hoping to make next year, which is much more layered and explores all the same themes, but in greater depth. I just always feel the need to expand my stories into features. The money is an issue though. Finding funds to make features is much harder than making short films… But I am on my way. Whales, the short film, is doing very well in festivals, and I am determined to make the feature no matter what… If we don't find the money, we will just get resourceful. Hunger makes the good cook, is my motto.

have selected

, a captivating film that our

As to this story in particular, I always liked writing about what is going on underneath the surface of everyday living. There is so much going on underneath the surface of every day experience. I want to peel away all the layers, so to say and I also feel a strong urge to tell stories that incite the audience to look what hurts in the eye. I don’t want people to look away. I love that quote by the Artist Kurosawa: It is the role of the artist to never look away…

readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your clear approach to narrative is the way it provides the viewers with such a multilayered visual experience. While walking our readers through the genesis of Whales, could you tell us what did attract you to this particular story?

Featuring sensuous cinematography with rich color palette, Whales is a transporting experience, an unforgettable symphony of feelings: what were your aesthetic decisions when shooting? In particular, what was your choice about camera and lens? We had very little money to make this film, so we went

A still from Whales

Women Cinemakers

with what was cheapest. We didn’t have any lights. On site we just had a black magic, the actors, myself, the cinematographer, a sound guy, the script and the gorgeous setting of the island did the rest… Post production was the only bigger expense, really. All the rest was made possible thanks to Susanne Harford, a very generous woman who let us all live in her house on the island and the very helpful people living there. When it comes to lenses, I always trust my director of photography with choices like that. Without Jakob Creutzburg the film wouldn’t look the way it does. He deserves the credit for the look of the film. Him and the island, really. The set was designed by mother nature and Jakob is a master at his craft. I hope to work with him on many more films. With its elegantly structured storytelling Whales imparts unparalleled psychological intensity to the narration, to unveil an ever shifting internal struggle. We have particularly appreciated the way the dialogues of your film seem natural and spontaneous, and give the viewers the sense they are watching excerpts from real life: would you tell how did you develope the script and the structure of your film in order to achieve such brilliant authenticity? My scripts always go through many drafts. I am big on rewriting and very careful when it comes to choosing what my characters will say, when they say it and how, in

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what circumstance or context. I have a few faithful readers, who always read my work and give me feedback. They help me with the process, as writing can become a little lonely from time to time. Getting external feedback also helps with perspective. It’s just hard to stay objective, when you are so immersed within a story that you are developing. When you have gotten to know your characters so well, you just want to step away and look at it from a different pair of eyes and perspective. I also enjoy doing lots of rehearsals with the actors before shooting, even while I write the script… This way I can explore what the character I had envisioned in my head becomes when the actors begin to “own it”… It usually becomes a whole new person, and it takes me time to get used to this third character, who exists somewhere between what I created in the script and what the actor did with it through his or her performance. We like the way your intimate close-ups created entire scenarious out of psychologically charged moments: in Whales you leave the floor to your characters Margot and Louise, highlighting their mutual interactions and finding such brilliant ways to create a channel of communication between their epiphanic journey and the viewers' emotional sphere. What are you hoping Whales will trigger in the spectatorship? I hope that the audience “feels” what the characters feel. I hope to take them on a journey that makes them

A still from Whales

empathise with these women and despise the hypocricy of this family who prefers to hide the tragedy instead of looking it in the eye. I want the audience to look beyond the surface and realise that the realities that hide beneath are oftentimes quite complex and dark. By getting comfortable with this darkness and the complexity of it, we train the viewers mind to embrace a more holistic perception of life and become comfortable with the uncomfortable. I don’t want to look away, but right at what hurts because it says so much about who we really are… All this pain and darkness says so much about what it means to be human. Ultimately I believe that cinema and films in general can promote the humanism within us and help us look at who we are in the mirror, perhaps do something about it. Even if it is not a film that provides answers (but only reveals some wounds of a lying and alienated world), Whales’ is an experiment about the small crimes of the current family standards that are still hiding behind the impeccable images that populate our social universe. Shot in the raveshing location of Elba Island, Whales has drawn heavily from the specifics of its environment and we have highly appreciated the way you have created such powerful resonance between its lush landscape and the atmosphere of mistery that floats around the story: how did you select the location and how did it influence your shooting process? Well, as mentioned above, we had very little money to make the film. Making it wasn’t even an option until I met a dear friend of mine who told me about an artist residence on the Island of Elba, that was run by a woman

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Women Cinemakers

A still from Whales

Women Cinemakers

A still from Whales

interview

Women Cinemakers from Australia, Susanne Harford and her husband Patrick. It’s not really an official residency but it’s a place where Susanne’s artist friends and family spend their summer to “create”. When I met Susanne, she invited me to work on a project while staying at her house. I asked if I could bring a small crew and make a film. I had written Whales, the feature script, years ago, and it was my intention to shoot some sort of teaser while on Elba, in order to raise attention about the feature. Susanne, who is an incredibly generous and kind woman, invited us all to stay at the house and in two weeks of rehearsals, intensive writing sessions and overall pre production we shot Whales on a shoe string budget. On the island we received help from everyone. We were there before the tourists usually roll in, so a lot of the residents of the small town where we stayed, didn’t have much to do, and they all loved helping on our shoot. Paolo Ferruzzi, an architect, living in the town and Susanne and Patrick’s next door neighbour gave us access to the house where Napoleon used to live while in exile on the island. The sets look so gorgeous because of his help and I am infinitely grateful for him being in my life. He is a wonderful person! In general the project seemed to be “under the right stars” as so many wonderful people have helped us from the moment that we set foot on the island. At the end I ended up developing a whole story and we shot a film, not just a teaser, but it still serves the primary function of turning it into a feature which we are currently in pre production for.

We daresay that Whales could be considered an effective allegory of human experience: how does your everyday life's experience fuel your creative process and address your choices regarding the stories you tell in your films? I carry a notebook with me, wherever I go, and I eavesdrop on strangers a lot, and write down my thoughts and dreams on a daily basis. Keeping your inner life vivid and lively is essential to keep the creative juices flowing. I have a lot of log lines written down in my notebook, and when the time comes to develop a story, I reach for those and work on expanding them. Usually, once I start a story, the world seems to “get that” and the ideas unfold without me trying. As I was researching on my film Joyce, for example, I got a call from a friend of a friend who felt compelled to tell me his experience with immigration, because the log line of my film had touched him on a very deep level. We spent two hours on the phone and he even cried at some point. This is what I meant by saying that the world “gets that” I need to tell a specific story and once the story is out there with its urgency to be told, so to say, it somehow tells itself. There is a resonance between my intention and what happens to me. Sometimes I think of it as some kind of magic. Your work has received positive feedbacks and Between Seconds was awarded from several festivals: how much importance has for you the feedback that you receive in the festival circuit? And how do you feel previewing a film before an audience?

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Women Cinemakers

A still from Whales

Women Cinemakers

A still from Whales

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Women Cinemakers

It’s very important because without the audience films don’t exist. Stories need to be told and they need a listener, a place to land, so to say… They exist somewhere between the intention of the teller and however the viewer perceives them. I also think that winning awards and seeing your work recognized by an audience is essential, especially because it is so hard to make money with independent films, so there is that part of the reward that becomes even more important. Asides from that as artists, we have an itch to say something… We have the need to feel connected to others through our work. If there was nobody watching my films I would see no point in making them. I share out of a of a need to tell others about what I feel. My art exists in that space between what I have to say, and how others perceive it. It’s a love story of some sort. A shared vision. The film belongs to the audience as much as it belongs to the filmmakers. It is what the audience sees in it and what I wanted to say. All those elements are mixed together. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in cinema. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from getting behind the camera, however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. What's your view on the future of women in cinema? Do you think it is harder for women artists to have their projects green lit today?

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It is so important to watch films made by women, and give that vision room, precisely because it has been obstructed for years and because women have a very interesting perspective on the world. Who is going to write a woman’s character in a more accurate and sincere manner than a woman? I am sick of women being oversimplified and objectified. I am ready for more complex and beautifully layered female characters and in order to write about such women, we need more women story tellers. It is really that simple.

oriented this industry has been. But times are changing… And I am glad that they are. I can’t wait for a future of story telling that embraces and celebrates not just the female perspective but ALL Perspectives. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Nora. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? I want to make Whales the feature, as well as the feature

To me the gender paradox in this industry is still appalling. It’s an injustice that needs to be rectified. I believe that in all art forms, we need representatives from ALL backgrounds and races. Minorities need to BELONG and have a room and space to tell their stories. These stories are so important because what we need is an accurate depiction of how life is for everyone, not just white men. With my last film I kept winning this “Best woman film maker award”, and deep down and kept hoping that this category would no longer exist when my daughters are old enough to make films (if they want to, and if I will ever have one) because one day women will be just as represented behind the camera as men are. I mean, we are half of this population and we give a wildly diverse and empathic perspective on life. Being a woman is amazing. We have so many talents and resources that are still untapped because of how male

version of my film Joyce. And then I want a lot of talented writers from ALL backgrounds to come to my screenwriting retreat in Italy so that we can keep inspiring one another and tell stories that reflect the diversity of our world. Here is the website of it: https://www.maraviglia.net/events/screenwritingworkshop-in-tuscany/ Whoever reads this, feel free to contact me and come join us at Maraviglia Screenwriting retreat in Tuscany. Let's support one another's stories, no matter our background. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Women Cinemakers meets

Caroline Mariko Stucky Lives and works in New York City and in Europe

Jo is an outgoing, liberated second generation Chinese-American girl who begins a passionate romance with Helen at the opening of the film. Since long before dating Helen, Jo has been extravagantly out and on the scene as a lesbian, but crisis unfolds when it is revealed she never actually came out in her workplace to her boss or coworkers, and has been uncomfortably adrift in a no-man's land of covering and passing for a few years. Jo blames her reluctance on her relationship with her disapproving Chinese parents, but Helen can't swallow an excuse that sounds so thin, suddenly mistrusting Jo's intentions and fidelity.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier

your evolution as a filmmaker? Moreover, how does your cultural substratum due to your Swiss-Japanese roots address your artistic research?

and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Hello Caroline and welcome to

: we

would like to invite our readers to visit in order to get a wider idea about your production and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. You have a solid formal training and after your studies of History of Cinema at the UNIL, you moved from Switzerland to the United States to pursue your studies in Filmmaking and in Screenwriting at the prestigious NYFA: how did these experiences influence

Actually, before I enrolled in college, I worked at the 2015 Universal Expo in Aichi, Japan. I was personal assistant to Michinori Ooba, the Japanese Technical Coordinator, for a piece by Robert Wilson called “In the Evening at Koi Pond.” I had a fantastic time working with an international crew and for such an extraordinary artist, while learning a little more about my Japanese roots. Not sure what I was going to do next, I enrolled at the UNIL (Université de Lausanne, in my home town in Switzerland) to study History of Cinema, but after a semester, I missed my life working as a part of that crew in Japan, and all I

Women Cinemakers wanted to do was to go back into the field to make art instead of study it. So I started an 18-month internship at Cinegate Hamburg in Germany to learn the tools of the trade. It was very intensive, but I was able to use any equipment I wanted and practice 16mm and 35mm film loading, which allowed me to work on the sets of features, commercials and thesis films for the HMS (Hamburg Media School), a prestigious film school. After my internship was over, I wanted to indulge my interest in American culture, so I came to New York and fell deeply in love with it. The only way for me to stay here was to go to school, so I enrolled at the New York Film Academy. Coming from a very technical background, I wanted to learn more about the creative side of filmmaking. First I studied filmmaking (or direction) and then I picked the subject farthest from my experience; screenwriting. I think this far-reaching trip through a diverse set of skills made everything a lot easier for meâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;I write with a strong realistic sense of how the film could be shot, and when I am directing I have a deep technical understanding of what is possible. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very grateful that I came to the whole thing in this roundabout way! Regarding my work, I noticed that a large part of the stories I am most interested in telling have to do with identity. I think growing up identifying at least in part as Japanese in Switzerland is unavoidably part of that, as is working in Japan as an adult who didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t grow up there. And then there is the layer of being perceived as a complete foreigner, but also developing a sense of new cultural ownership that has been added as I lived and worked in Germany, and now in the US. My parents actually met in Berkeley, California, and it is possible that some deep nostalgia for America influenced my

Women Cinemakers path as well. I was enchanted by Hollywood cinema as a child, and by everything American; diners, hot dogs, hamburgers, Disneyland, musical theatre. By virtue of living here, I do find that I am telling American stories (that are also universally relevant, and often deeply linked to mine through metaphor) in all my films right now, and I love it! For this special edition of we have selected Us, an extremely interesting short film that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your inquiry into the concept of identity is the way you have been capable of creating such a captivating combination between senses of intimacy and isolation, providing the viewers with such a captivating visual experience. While walking our readers through the genesis of Us, would you tell us what did attract you to this particular story? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Usâ&#x20AC;? tells the story of Helen, played by Alice Kremelberg, an American graphic designer who starts dating Jo, played by Melody Cheng, an Asian-American woman who works in a startup company. What initially made me want to tell this story was the idea of the way people experience the same things in different ways. I grew up with parents from two very different cultures and backgrounds, and I never understood why they were arguing so much until I grew up and saw the world; it is so big and the billions of people in it have so many different lifestyles! One thing can mean something completely different to someone else, and there are multiple ways to do the same thing that are equally valid. We learn to be open and nonjudgmental to the points of view of other people.

People struggle to organise their different spheres of identity, and perform identity differently depending on their company. Gay people still think twice and look around quickly before kissing their partner goodbye at the subway station, even if they are presenting in an unmistakably queer way and they are clearly not pretending to not be gay. At home, with friends, perhaps a less vital calculation goes on. And cultural identity interacts heavily with everything else as well! So two people can go so far as to live together, but can both perform their role as partners so differently that it can isolate them from each other. Photographed as a single long shot, your film features such a careful attention to blocking: how did the choice of the location affect your aesthetic decisions when shooting? In particular, what was your choice about camera and lighting? Funny you ask! I actually chose the location before writing the story. We shot in my kitchen. I always thought it looked like a stage, and the arches that separate the dining area from the kitchen and the rest of the apartment give a lot of dimension and depth for photography. I used it like a frame, inside which the lighting, the design, and the actors would tell the story. I wanted the audience to feel like they are in the room with the characters. Some people told me they felt occasionally uncomfortable, which made me very happyâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;my hope is that the stationary camera and long takes with no cuts make it feel very much like real life.

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A still from

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Women Cinemakers With regards to blocking, most of the time I let the actors be free in order to keep it feeling real, almost like a documentary. Natalie Allante, who was the 1st AD, was also the Art Director. We kept the kitchen almost as it usually is but added artwork that we thought the characters would have on their walls to express where Helen is emotionally and to show time passing. There were a lot of magical moments while filming. One of my favourite moments is when the protagonists have their first kiss, and it happens behind a small plant that hangs from the ceiling. Although the audience can spy on them the whole time, it gave them a little bit of intimacy, which I thought was wonderful. I also love the pivotal scene where Melody is half hidden behind the fridge while expressing her desire to stay private. The film dialogues seem spontaneous and natural, yet your inquiry as a writer into the notions of identity and vulnerability is particularly analytical: how did you develop the script of Us? The story is very personal, so the topic was very familiar to me, but I made sure the actors had the freedom to use their own words if they wanted to. In order to stay on the topic of sexual identity and paralysis of self expression, I referred Melody to the book â&#x20AC;&#x153;Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights,â&#x20AC;? by Kenji Yoshino. In the initial stages of the script, Aliceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s character was a little one-dimensional, so I eventually gave her a complex back story to add some gravitas to her side of the issues as well. In you leave the floor to your characters, inviting the viewers to develop a bridge between their own inner

spheres and their epiphanic journeys: what was your preparation with actors in terms of rehearsal? In particular, do you like spontaneity or do you prefer to meticulously schedule every details of your shooting process? I approached this film very differently than I would approach, for example, a comedy. For comedy, timing, precise camera movements, and cuts are critical. For this particular script, I wanted the most spontaneity possible, so we didn’t schedule any rehearsals. Also, when you work with amazing actors, it’s great to see what they can bring to the table. I was very open to their interpretation, but also gave a little direction just to keep the film streamlined. In one scene, for the last take, while Melody was standing by outside the apartment, I told Alice that there was a bottle of sparkling wine in the fridge and she should offer it to Melody this time, instead of the beers that they used in the previous takes. It turned out that this particular bottle had a difficult cork and Melody couldn’t open it, so she improvised by putting it back in the fridge and asked if they could have beer instead. It worked perfectly with the scene because her character has come back home with a heavy topic that will drive the plans of the two girls apart. I love that it expresses her tension and foreshadows the conflict she knows will come after she reveals her secret. During the take, I had to remind myself not to cheer because I was so happy. This all being said, I will clarify that I love for acting to be spontaneous, but I do meticulously schedule every other aspect of a shoot!

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers We daresay that the "fly-on-the-wall" technique you adopted seems to address the viewers to an apparently neutral role, in order to detach themselves from a particular character, in order to focus to the story as a whole: would you tell us how much important is for you that the spectatorship rethink the concepts you convey in your pieces, elaborating personal meanings? What do you hope viewers will take away from Us? I was really trying to be neutral, giving each character the space to give her point of view, but people who see the film tend to pick a side. During public screenings, I heard people in the audience react to what one or the other character was saying or doing, which was so exciting! I hope the film is an opportunity to see the other side of the coin, feel some empathy for someone on the opposite side of your next conflict, and an invitation to take race, culture, personal history into account. I agree that the “fly-on-the-wall” technique offers a neutral point of view; that was definitely what I intended. And certainly the opposite philosophy, cutting back and forth between a lot of close-ups, would have taken us out of the story more often and made it seem less real. Reflecting such an intimate picture of the lovers negotiating life together, Us could be considered a simple still effective allegory of our everchanging contemporary age: how does everyday life's experience fuel your creative process as a writer? It is a very personal story with a universal topic. Even when I write or direct a story that is less close to home, it is always influenced by memories or people I met or personally know. Never be mean to a writer; one day you’ll realise you’re the

Women Cinemakers

villain you’re watching in a movie! I also chose the title because it is neutral. I think it could be anyone’s story, Gay or Straight, Black or White. Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once stated, " ". What could be in your opinion the role of a filmmaker in our contemporary age? Does your artistic research respond to a particular cultural moment? When I came to New York in 2012, I was already twenty-eight, but I felt like I was just beginning to learn about life. Switzerland is one of the last countries in the world that allowed women’s suffrage. I barely knew any gay people, and talked about it even less than I saw it. Because my mother is Japanese, it was really hard for me to come out because I didn’t have any role models around me, at least no gay women I could relate to or talk to. Perhaps, more than a cultural moment, my work with “Us” responds more to a cultural geography. I have lived outside Switzerland for the past five years but I have noticed a lot of positive changes during my last trips back home. Gay marriage is still not approved but gay couples can be “PACSed” (pacte civil de solidarité, in English, a civil union), which means they can be legally recognised as partners and have almost the same benefits as married couples. In French we say “les temps changent et les gens aussi” (times change, and people, too). I’m concerned by the ugliness that has floated closer to the surface in the current political climate in the US. I am interested in addressing this in future projects. I don’t pretend to be able to change anything in the world with art, but I hope to have the

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Women Cinemakers chance to provoke thought, give my point of view, maybe open someone to something new. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in cinema. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from getting behind the camera, however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. What's your view on the future of women in cinema? I think a lot of people are saying positive things about where we are, and a lot of womenâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;and menâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;are excited to see results of the #timesup movement, but in my sphere things have not yet progressed. I do see that (mostly women) producers are more likely to hire a female crew, which makes me very happy, but the truth is that the higher paying gigs are still taken by men who walk up the ladder much faster and easier than any other women. And if you are a person of color, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s even harder. I think we are in a better place than a decade ago, but change is slow, and we are far from bringing the balance to 50/50. The glass ceiling has been broken by women like Patty Jenkins and Rachel Morrison, but there is still a lot of work to do. Producers, keep giving women a platform to express themselves! Our voices need to be heard. More so in this regressive political era. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Caroline. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving?

Women Cinemakers

I was recently the cinematographer for a film called “Con Spirito,” with an awesome team led by female filmmakers. Alex Sarrigeorgiou is the writer and lead actress, Emily Izquierdo is the director and Patricia Selznick is the producer. I am particularly proud of this project and excited to see the final project! It tells a fictional story based on true facts about Elizabeth Bishop’s experimental, boundary-pushing literary newspaper, Con Spirito. Melody Cheng, who stars in “Us,” created a series called “Paramour No More,” and we have just wrapped the pilot, which I directed (she starred as the main role). It was great to reunite with her, this time on her project! Otherwise, one of my next collaborations is with filmmaker Richa Rudola. I am the cinematographer for her next film, “The Seal,” which tells the story of a young woman's struggle to cope with childhood trauma and how she reclaims an identity for herself that she has longed for. As for my own projects, I am working on a proof of concept for a series which I will be writing and directing. I love working as a cinematographer but I see myself directing more in the future—it isn’t a closed door at all, and I find my background as a DP helps me invaluably with directing. In general, I am interested in character-driven stories and I want to focus more on human behaviour and relationships.

IG: @carolinemarikofilms Twitter: @carolinemariko

Women Cinemakers meets

Daniella Dahoui Lives and works in London, United Kingdom Born in New York City, Daniella Dahoui is a filmmaker who comes from a multi-cultural background with a French-Brazilian father and a Japanese mother. At a young age she moved to Chile and lived most of her childhood there for nine years and then lived in London for ten years. Daniella studied Film and Popular Culture & Media Arts at St Mary’s University and Film Studies for her Masters at UCL where she garnered theoretical and practical knowledge. Since then, she has been involved in many productions from feature films, music videos and multi award-winning short films. Daniella has been working with Camelot Films since 2017 where she assists on their productions, manages their social media platforms and is in charge of all press related aspects. She was also Festival Director for Camelot’s debut film festival in 2016 and was a Production Assistant for their latest feature Winter Ridge. In 2017, she wrote, directed and produced her first short film Claire and Me, and aims to direct more short films in the near future.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com Moving and refined in its balanced and effective storytelling, is a stimulating short film by Daniella Dahoui: inquiring into the themes of friendship, nostalgia and growing-up she initiates her audience into an intimate visual experience capable of triggering the viewers' perceptual and cultural parameters. This poetic film offers an emotionally complex meditation on the relationship between memory and experience, achieving a captivating lyrical quality: we are particularly pleased to introduce our readers to Dahoui's captivating and multifaceted artistic production. Hello Daniella and welcome to

: we would like

to introduce you to our readers with a question about your background. You have a solid formal training and after having earned your BA of Film and Popular Culture & Media Arts from St. Mary’s University, Twickenham, you nurtured your education with a Masters Degree of Film Studies, that you , London. How did these received from the prestigious experiences influence your evolution as a filmmaker? Hi, thank you for having me. Deciding to study film changed my life as far as I’m concerned. I was a late bloomer when it came to discovering my passion for film, but I’m glad I discovered it when I did. Despite loving film even as a kid and having written stories my entire life, I was still new to understanding how to tell stories through film, as well as having only seen films like when I was about 18 or 19 (I had only seen bits and pieces of the original

trilogy, but never fully from beginning to end). It didn’t occur to me that I wanted to become a filmmaker until my final year in school. Therefore, this was my introduction to all of that. I took a joint degree in St Mary’s. It was mostly theoretical, although they did teach practical elements of film and media, so I had learned how to make films too. Normally when you want to become a filmmaker, people would rather have a more technical and hands-on approach to making films and only find studying film theory beneficial or relevant if they wanted to become a film critic. However, learning the theory of film made me appreciate and understand film language even more, as well as understand its history and cultural impact. I had learned the craft of visual stortelling through their modules, as well as how audiences consume film and thus the impact and influence of film. I was able to look into how I could tell my stories as I broke down and analysed film images, and explored the filmmaking process studying screenplays, cinematography, editing, etc. At UCL, it was all about theory and it was fascinating, although my only regret is not joining the Film Society despite me knowing that Christopher Nolan had been president of the society during his time studying at UCL (a fun fact was that he had later used the UCL library for ). Joining the society would have given me more a scene in opportunities to make films and be on set. I had done a couple of productions during my time at university, but I had much more production experiences after I graduated from university, especially after I joined Camelot Films. For anyone who wanted to learn how to make films, I’d say to watch as many films as possible and be on set as much as possible, although I wouldn’t discourage anyone from learning theory either, as it does have some valuable insight into its craft and its cultural impact. Especially if you’re new to filmmaking, it offers a great introduction to film. It brought me closer to my passion and interests and made me a better storyteller, even though I was still discovering my writing style at the time. we have selected For this special edition of , a captivating film that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What

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Women Cinemakers has at once captured our attention of your insightful inquiry into the themes of friendship and nostalgia is the way your sapient narrative provides the viewers with with such an intense visual experience, enhanced by elegant composition. While walking our readers through the genesis of , would you tell how did you develop the script of your film? I wrote Claire and Me as a starting point. I never directed anything before, and although initially I wanted to direct my 15-minute script, I realised that I needed something smaller to get myself accustomed to the director’s hat. It’s entirely fine for a director to take on a longer project as their first film, and I know many who have, but I needed a little more confidence and experience as a director, so making a 4-minute short made more sense for me at the time. I also wanted something that would be easier to produce since I had limited tools at my disposal and something that could showcase what I was capable of. Fortunately, I had a script I was very happy with and a cast and crew who were extremely supportive and were very excited about the script. The story of is about Gabby. She’s in her bedroom preparing for prom, which celebrates a transitional stage of her life, and as she picks out a dress with her friend Claire, they reminisce. As the idea of my film stemmed from shooting something with one location and few actors, the idea of shooting in my bedroom re-appeared. A while back I had the idea to shoot a film about a girl choosing what clothes to wear on her first week at university, while speaking to her different personalities (a tomboyish-self, “a girly-self”, a “smart-self”, etc). The actress would have been playing her multiple selves in different outfits and make-up, and I saw it as a little editing exercise for myself, editing the actress’s multiple conversations with herself. It had a cute story about choosing what kind of person you wanted to be, as well as not falling into any sort of label, as all of these personalities were merely small parts of a bigger whole. I never ended up making it in the end. Later I wanted to write something short and simple, roughly 5-minutes and I came up with this film where our protagonist is having a conversation with one person as opposed to many people. ’s concept happened to be very similar to my previous one. A girl who

was not just choosing clothes, but choosing the image she wanted to be seen in. A girl who was moving onto the next stage of her life, except instead of entering university it was graduating from school, which were very close periods of time to each other. It explored he anticipations and fears of growing up: how she was going to face the world in front of her, as well as how she would make friends and create significant bonds. These were patterns that happened to appear a lot in the works I’ve written, and they happened to be very internal struggles. A bedroom is a very intimate and personal space and can say a lot about a person, so setting the story in a characters’ bedroom almost serves like a character study. The fact that it was set in my own bedroom might make the story a self-reflection piece. There was supposed to be an extra conflict in the story, where Gabby is deciding whether she wants to go to prom or not, but I realised that the problem would have been resolved too quickly and wouldn’t have made sense with the character. Something I like about short films is that they’re very straight-to-the-point, especially when it’s only a few minutes. Although Gabby doesn’t go through a major revelation or development here, or any external conflict per se, we still see her backstory and get to learn about her with bits of information, like her interactions with other characters. It becomes a small chapter of a much larger picture. It could easily be adapted into a feature, and the film could serve as the opening to the film, but as of now it is what it is. It tells its story in less than 4 minutes, and I wanted to tell it as much as possible in a short about of time. One element in the story was the twist ending. I had a feeling most viewers would figure out what it was at the end, but the point was never about discovering the twist beforehand. The point was that the twist revealed something about Gabby as a person, adding more layers and even questions to whom this person was. The dialogue hints that Gabby had been bullied in the past and Claire was a coping mechanism for her pain and loneliness. Despite the nostalgic and comforting music, both at the beginning and at the end, it turns into a bittersweet tale and makes the ending more ambiguous: Gabby has grown and learnt a lot, and yet she still has Claire, a reminder of her loneliness. We

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers don’t know whether she’s still struggling and how she’ll do from now on, or how much she has overcome. Suffice it to say, Claire assures her that she is “always here to help”, always beside her to make sure that she’s okay, so there’s still that hint of optimism. Claire is there to give her an extra push as Gabby steps into the outside world. features expressive color palette and elegantly structured composition: what were your when shooting? In particular, how did you select the location? My plan was to make a film that would include one location and few actors, so as I looked at my bedroom for filming, I realised there was a lot I could work with. My bedroom had shades of light pink and cream, and had plenty of flower motifs, so I incorporated that into the visuals and turned pink into a symbolic colour. It became a colour of childhood and innocence, comfort and nostalgia. The colours re-appear into the characters’ clothes, especially Claire’s pink bow on her head. In the film, Gabby struggles to choose between a light-pink dress and a bright red dress, wondering whether the red dress will make her look more formal and perhaps less childish. Thus, in contrast to the soft pink, red beomes a colour of growth, a more intense and vibrant colour that stands out more. A happy coincidence was that Vanessa, the actress playing Gabby, had red hair, indicating that her character is growing. It becomes a bit ironic that Gabby chooses a dress that represents childhood if she’s supposed to be growing up. However, the events of her past were the foundation of who she became to this day, and therefore she is celebrating a huge part of herself that is never forgotten and will even help her on her journey of who she is to become. Thus, she is celebrating her memories as she moves on to adulthood. Furthermore, Gabby might be all grown up, but Claire influences her decision to choose the pink dress: she reminds her that to become an adult isn’t necessarily about rejecting child-like behaviour, but about making choices for oneself. For the costumes, their styles were light and feminine, preppy style, and colours that matched the rest of the room. I had asked Rosemary, the actress playing Claire, to wear an outfit that would resemble a school uniform in some way, hence the white collared blouse and the plaid skirt, yet still make it look fashionable. I had also drawn a concept sketch of

Claire to give her an idea of how she would need to look like. Claire was a character who had made Gabby’s school experience more fun, or at the very least more tolerable, so Claire’s outfit was meant to put a spin on the uniform. It was essential that the pink bow was on her head, so I had made sure that the colours matched, otherwise the pink bow would be jarring with the outfit and stick out like a sore thumb. As for Camilla, Gabby’s mother, she’s the only character wearing darker colours (Claire does wear a dark skirt and panty-hose, but it’s less predominant on screen). Camilla wears purple which is a darker and more mature-looking colour, but it still works well with the rest of the colour palette, and is still regarded as a feminine colour. Pink has also often been culturally associated with femininity, although my intent wasn’t to enforce a gender stereotype. I only ever have a problem with it if that’s the only option given or available for women. It’s the same with sexuality: there is noting inherently wrong with a woman looking sexy, but it only becomes a problem if it’s the only image we get from women and it becomes normalised. I suppose Gabby struggling to choose the pink dress is because she doesn’t want to be seen as “too girly”, as it stems from the idea that if you’re too girly, you’re “weak”, as femininty has sadly sometimes been associated with weakness. That choosing to look like a Valley Girl, for example, somehow means that you’re vain or stupid. who is portrayed I’ve liked characters like Elle Woods from as intelligent, determined and compassionate, while also being true to her hyperfeminine image and her interests in the end. However, I also welcome empowering characters who go against the girly stereotypes like Jessica Jones, as women should be allowed to be anything and look however they want. Gender norms are a social construct which are very engrained into our culture and whatever women do, they are faced with these double standards. Even in my own experiences, when I was a kid I had girls asking me if I was boy just because I didn’t pierce my ears. Really, it’s not about trying to pick one image or another, or that somehow you’re less feminine or masculine by choosing specific gender signifiers, rather it’d be about choosing for oneself what your preference is, whether it’s deciding to wear make-up or not, wearing all-pink or all-black, being girly or tomboyish, etc. That’s why despite the feminine aesthetics, Claire states that, if she were ever to attend prom, she would love to wear a tuxedo, and Gabby has absolutely no problem with that idea even if she herself chooses to wear a dress. I know it’s only subtly addressed in the story, but

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Women Cinemakers

Women Cinemakers it’s something I think about as I write female characters. A challenging aspect in making the film was filming entirely in a small bedroom. How do I film a small room without making it feel claustrophobic or boring to look at? First, I considered the blocking of the characters: they travel almost entirely around the entire space, with characters sitting on the bed, kneeling down, moving back and forth, entering and exiting the bedroom, etc, so it didn’t feel like there was too little space to move around in and I’d take advantage of the environment. Plus it wouldn’t be two characters standing in one place and looking at each other, otherwise it’d be uncreative at and we’d be shooting multiple shot-reverse-shots. Secondly, in combination with some extra lighting in specific parts of the room, and the grading of the film offering a subtle vignette around it, it gave the room more depth, since I had mostly plain walls and didn’t want to have a boring background. The natural lighting also made it a comforting space to be in, almost dream-like. When I shot the second scene with the mother, it was slightly darker as we shot later in the day, but it worked as it had a slightly sombre mood, which fit with the bittersweet twist. The colour scheme and grading gave it a bit of a sepia feel, like we were looking at a faded photograph, which fit in quite well with the themes of nostalgia and memory. When I look at the red tones, especially some shots of the red dress and Gabby’s hair, it almost seems like the reds were painted in, kind of like the old techniques of hand-colouring black-and-white photographs. I like little details like that. We have particularly appreciated that though your inquiry into the personal sphere of the character of Gabby seems to be very strives to be full of emotion: how analytical, yet would you consider the relationship between within your work? In particular, do you like spontaneity or do you prefer to meticolously schedule every detail of your shooting process? I wanted Gabby’s story to be a very subjective journey, hence the dream-like quality of the lighting and cinematography, but I also wanted to add logic and layers to why she was the way she was and

why she felt what she did. Getting into her head and focusing on her emotions made her all the more real. Although Gabby had been bullied in the past, her journey was a lot more than just “a girl overcoming her bullies” or “not making a lot of friends”. That would just be a small part of a much larger story. On top of that, because Gabby is only now graduating, you could argue that her story has only begun. There has to be layers to a character, and what they carry with them is how they’re going to use it in the world around them. We have a hint of her social life, but we also see other pieces like her drawing of her and Claire, a colourful and light-hearted drawing that doesn’t exactly reflect a negative experience. Does that mean that as a defense mechanism against bullying, she shut herself away from others into a world of imagination? Did she desire for a more non-threatening world with her friend Claire or was she not aware of her own experiences? Was her imaginative state an escape or a more optimistic outlook? If that’s the case, how did her social skills develop after these experiences? It’s not easy to predict or come up with a specific conclusion, but there is definitely a lot to explore. I can certainly look into a character like Gabby because we had similar parallels. You can definitely look at your own past and say certain things about yourself, but then you think about your past a bit more and realise things that you didn’t realist about yourself. I don’t think even Gabby fully understands why she’s the way she is, and that probably comes from a more subconscious level, but she does try to learn about herself as much as possible. One detail was that Gabby is excited to go to prom, and yet she struggles to do something as simple as choosing a dress last minute. If she were more excited and were more confident with herself, she would have picked the pink dress from the start. This comes with everyone: we can add logic to our emotions and try to break ourselves down as much as we can, but we only end up asking more questions about ourself or continue to discover aspects of ourselves we didn’t realise before. For instance, I see myself as an optimist and a very excitable person, but lately I’ve been faced with many negative emotions and have become very insecure. It was something I did not expect from myself, and yet when I looked back at my past I realised I did have similar insecurities, except it re-emerged again in a different way. This especially happens

Women Cinemakers with people with anxiety who have trouble understanding where their emotions came from or why they have no control over it. Everyone has emotions and layers to themselves, and they can be unpredictable, unknown, and yes, spontaneous. That’s why it’s important to ask questions about yourself. Again, your past can say a lot about who you are, so it’s worth exploring at any stage in your life. As far as the actual production went, I like to have things planned out and know what I’m doing, but also am pretty flexible in listening to new ideas and changing things. I was pretty lucky I had found the actresses who were fit for their respective roles, especially Vanessa who delivered her dialogue with all the inflections I had imagined when writing the dialogue! It was quite remarkable! As a creative in any field, I know that nothing will come out exactly as planned: somehow in some way, the final product will always find some sort of change that you didn’t expect or intend, either to fix a mistake or add something coming from someone else’s input. I had a pretty clear vision as to how I wanted the film to look like, from the writing to the props and costumes (that includes the actual drawing that appears in the film, which I drew myself), but also wanted to improvise if it improved the story. I didn’t have time to storyboard the film, but I knew in my mind how I wanted to shoot the film, so I created a shot list for the film like a checklist. Whenever the DOP asked me if we could shoot something at a different angle, I thought about it and said “yeah, let’s do it, I’m glad you thought of it”, and sometimes the actresses would deliver lines differently, so either I worked with it or asked them to do it slightly differently to be closer to my vision. Maybe next time I can allow for a little more spontinaety. I like to be very organised and planned with films, because I’ve been on sets where we went off schedule and either didn’t get everything shot or we wrapped very late at night, so I went as far as to write the call sheet to keep everything informed, organised and on schedule. In the end, we were only an hour behind schedule, which they said that for a first-time director was very impressive, and the DOP was very impressed with my call sheet. I was so glad they said that, because they saw me as very professional, and it was a little

confidence boost. The editor gave the most input partly because he knew what he was doing in his role and also because he had directed before (the DOP had also directed, so his input was also valuable). I had written some notes before sending the footage to the editor, but he hadn’t used them since I realised that he was able to look at the shots in more details and he especially pointed out things I wouldn’t have otherwise noticed. I had some experience as an editor and was very picky about how I wanted some shots to look, but he offered some suggestions to fix a couple of mistakes. Sometimes these were small details, but to me details mattered. He also point out the rhythm of a scene which came very differently in my head: I thought it would be a lot faster, but there were many pauses that made it feel slower, which I found fascinating. Additionally, there was not going to be any music originally, but I realised later that it needed it to fill in the pauses at the beginning, and also to establish the tone of the piece, and it worked in the end. Adding music varies from film to film, and some people forget the value of a silent moment, but here I had to add it at the beginning and ending. It was a little challenging because it was my first time explaining to someone else how I wanted a shot to look as opposed to editing something myself (it’s not like I needed to explain to myself how I wanted the shot to look like). I speak very fast in real-life, so I had to slow down and be a little more specific. He looked at some of the technical aspects, from continuity errors or the performances from the actors, but I was very specific with what shots NEEDED to be in the final cut from a storytelling standpoint: the shots needed to be there for the audience to capture specific bits of information, and also to keep it consistent with my visual style, especially when it came to the twist at the end. In the end, 80% of the film turned out exactly how I had intended it to be, with about 20% being other people’s input, and all the better for it. The changes vastly improved the film’s initial concept, but it also brought the film to life. Reminding us of Claire Denis' work, the shooting style of is marked out with recurrent close shots that provide your film with such captivating : how did you

Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers developed your editing style? Again, it’s a very subjective journey, and because a lot of the focus was on Gabby, the opening shot was directly focused on her face. The opening shot of Gabby opening the closet was partly inspired by Rey’s introductory shot in . It was visually interesting, but still consistent with making Gabby the focus. Originally, Claire’s entrace was supposed to be more comedic, but it still came across as quite cute in the film, as she pops out behind Gabby’s head: it’s almost like Claire is coming out of Gabby’s mind, just as Gabby was looking at an old drawing and thinking of her friend. I really liked that. It was fun thinking of the many ways characters would come in and out of shots, often for comedic effect, but sometimes just as a visual cue to whom we should focus our attention to. From a technical standpoint, it’d be pretty boring just to get a shot-reverseshot in one bedroom and just a couple of wide shots, as it wouldn’t look particularly interesting. If you muted , it’d be pretty interesting to watch and you’d have somewhat of an idea of what the story was about and what the characters were feeling. If you muted a version of the film that mostly had wides and many shot-reverse-shots, it wouldn’t have the same effect (of course it depends on the film, with its writing, the environment, the actors’ performances, etc, but in this case I played around with the camera). From a thematic standpoint, whenever the characters had a truly intimate moment or an emotional moment, that’s what the camera looked at. For example, we have a two-shot of Gabby and Claire talking about the drawing itself, but once Gabby mentioned when a classmate pushed her and she said “back then boys weren’t very nice”, there was a close-up of her face, almost like she’s describing a bad experience and how she felt without actually saying it. A more simple yet also poignant example was Camilla looking at her daughter in her prom dress. These were mostly mid-shots until she says to her, “why did you grow up so fast” where we get her close-up. It also helped that Amanda, the actress who played Camilla, suggested that she entered the room and interacted with her daughter as opposed to just standing by the door. I went, “Yeah... that’s a really... good... point... how did I not think of that?” Again, feedback is super important. It was a simple yet effective way of keeping the characters and their emotions as the subject. We would like to ask you to tell us some interesting stories from the set: can you tell us something about the collaborative nature of your process?

In particular, what is your preparation with actors in terms of rehearsal? I had mentioned the cast and crew offering creative feedback, and as I stated, the DOP had directed before, so it was easy to tell him how I wanted a shot to look like, but also ask for some advice. Truth be told, I was almost intimidated and nervous because it was my first time directing and I knew others had more experience directing, so I just wanted to do my best and make a good impression. I had some hiccups here and there, but eventually got the hang of it. Everyone was incredibly supportive, even telling me they were impressed with me, so I was happy that the shoot went well. Also, I was kinda nervous even telling people to cook the pasta for lunch, since I would be busy directing, because I wanted people to feel welcome in my flat, and yet we were also working on a film and I was telling them what to do! No one seemed to have a problem, though, and during the lunch break we were just talking as if it were another day at the job. With the actresses, honestly, I had some preparation, but it was mostly during that day. What I did was I gave them the script, the description and background of the characters and asked them about costumes (since the costumes were super important for each character). When filming, the performances didn’t always turn out as I had planned, and I sometimes had trouble trying to explain how I wanted them to deliver their lines (while not sounding like a jerk or somehow implying that they were bad actress). In reality I should have had a day to rehearse with them and explain to them how their performance should come across. When Rosemary was acting, for instance, she was a lot more theatrical than what I wanted: Claire was quirky, but still grounded, so I had to find a healthy balance between the two. The actresses were very good and adapted their performances around what I told them to do. I gave them an hour to work on their performances together, as well as some extra time with me to work on blocking and direction, although I’d probably wish I had an extra day to prepare, because then filming would have gone a little smoother, and I would have also known a bit more what to expect and what I wanted. I’m not saying that you will always get a bad performance if you don’t prepare an extra day, or that you can’t nail a performance if you never acted alongside the other actor, but I would recommend it if you have the time. I went into very specific details about what kind of characters they were, but I wish I had asked them more about how their characters felt and why their characters were the way they were, because then the actors would get much more in tune with their emotions and their actions, especially when it came to

interview

Women Cinemakers

Women Cinemakers their relationships. Having acted before, I’ve seen how directors communicate with actors to work on their performance. Based around my experiences as an actor and as a director, I realise that there are many misconceptions about how to direct actors, and it’s more than just line delivery and “what’s my motivation?” It’s also about seeing the relationship between the actors and finding believability between them. If you can buy the fact that Gabby and Claire are good friends, and that Camilla loves her daughter in her pink dress, then that’s what matters, and they pulled it off quite well. There’s also being able to tell a story behind what you’re saying and not just saying the dialogue as is. When Gabby says that “boys weren’t very nice” back then, what she really meant was that she was bullied, and we see a bit of that sadness there as she re-tells the story. I’ll be sure to take all that into account the next time I direct actors. We like the way you created entire scenarios out of ordinary still psychologically charged moments: what are you hoping will trigger in the audience? I’m glad that the people who viewed the film were able to connect to the story in some way. It’s easier to overlook smaller stories in favour of either more fantastical tales or heavier subject matters, but we often forget that sometimes the most profound stories stem from something that characters need to overcome within themselves. Whether it’s set in real life or in a fantastical world, I believe characters and the way they interact with the world around them is one of the principles of capturing audiences’ sympathies. In this case, the film asks a question of what it means to grow up. It’s a bittersweet ending: Gabby has grown, but maybe still struggles socially, and maybe is still child-like in some ways. Growing up is a bittersweet journey. When we become adults, we have more independence, but also more responsibilites. We have more knowledge, but also more questions. We have more freedom of choice, but also the doubts and uncertainties that come with making that choice. Gabby’s experiences are very similar to those in real life, so that’s something many people can relate to at some point in their lives.

Gabby is still a bit unsure of herself, but Claire telling her friend that she is always here to help, it’s a way of saying that everything will be alright and that she is not alone. I hope others feel that assurance and that sense of comfort. Also, it’s more challenging if it’s a short film, and how you can create an impact in a couple of minutes. This is a piece of a much larger picture, so if people can continue to ask a few more questions after viewing the film, such as asking about the twist at the end, or asking what will happen to Gabby after she exits that door, then I’ve done something right. Your film focuses on aspects from everyday life, as : to emphasize the need of a bound between creative process and direct experience, British artist Chris Ofili once stated that " ". How does everylife experience direct your choices of the themes you explore? Stories are an accessible way of understanding ourselves and the world around us. If we are going to create fictional stories, there has to be elements of truth for us to imagine ourselves there. When you write, you take the framework, foundations and elements of real life stories to create imaginary scenarios. No matter how grounded in reality or how high-concept the premise is, you need to feel connected to the situation in some way, otherwise there will be a disconnect with the story and the characters on screen. Art is like a mirror of reality, or at least a perspective of reality. If you made a criticism against the writing of a film, it could be because you felt the narrative was a poor reflection of real life: you know the character wouldn’t make so-and-so decision, because you know that if you were them, you wouldn’t do that or understand their motivation. On the other hand, what makes Quentin Tarantino’s writing or Noah Baumbach’s writing is that it’s easy to be fascinated with the characters because their conversations are so close to real life and you’d imagine yourself talking to them. That’s one of the more important principles of storytelling. Granted, you have to be a bit selective with what aspects of real life you’d need to replocate. In real life, you could have long conversations with friends, but you wouldn’t want to watch that on

film for two hours. Just because it happens in real life, it doesn’t necessarily mean you have to show every single aspect. In my case, if I wanted to showcase a slice of life, I’d want to see it in a unique perspective. One of the exercises I did to come up with film ideas was to write about small moments that happened in my life, small stories or events. Sometimes the stories I write strangely enough come from the little moments in life. Sometimes I imagine real life scenarios that were emotionally charged and wonder what I can write around it. Because growing up was such a grounded theme, it was easier to tell that kind of story through relatable or small events. However, something I wanted to do was to play around with the way we saw real life or a relatable event, to play around with the way we saw the world and thus explore the way we experienced and interacted with it, hence the subjective angle of the tale and the twist ending. It’s fun to use film as a method of playing around with reality and real life. It makes the story relatable, but also interesting to look at. The more ideas and stories I wrote, the more I realised that my personal experiences were manifesting themselves in my narratives, whether it was a conscious decision like re-writing conversations I’ve had in real life, or unconsicously like I didn’t realise I felt a certain way. As far as the theme of growing up went, I’m at a very transitional period in my life, being in my twenties and recently graduating. I’m going through many emotions and I’m still in doubts about myself in many ways, so writing my stories was almost like I were writing a diary, as if I were trying to understand myself more. My stories became self reflective, even a bit autobiographical. You could easily say that I’m Gabby in the story, wtih my own experiences reflected onto her. I used to be bullied like Gabby, I used to live in my own world like she did, we are both young and unceratin about the future, we both even share the same bedroom! The relationship I had with Claire was similar to other experiences, and something that many children who have been bullied or have social problems have gone through, so I did some basic research about social interactions at a young age, as well as how I felt when I was a child. Right now, growing up is something I’m questioning every day, and it feels like I need to be able to share my feelings in some way. If stories are a way of making a statement or sharing a perspective, then I’m sharing some of my experiences with my films, and it becomes quite liberating to being able to open up, as well as express myself creatively. It’s a small story, but many people found that relatability, and it makes the story more endearing.

interview

Women Cinemakers

interview

Women Cinemakers Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in cinema. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from getting behind the camera, however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. What's your view on the future of women in cinema? Women have always been interested and prominent in cinema. Even in early cinema, women were very involved in the making and transformation of films. One notable film pioneer was Alice Guy who was arguably the first film director because she was the first to create narratives with film (before that time, film was only really used to showcase documentary footage). This was before the Lumières Brothers and Méliès. She’s directed over 500 films while contuniung to experiment with film during that time. The problem is that men were always given more attention, opportunities and respect than women. As for Alice Guy, almost no one talks about her, leaving us with the assumption that women don’t want to be involved with film even though they clearly do. Women deserve that recognition to make more women feel more welcome and to recognise their impact. This assumption that women don’t want to tell stories or be involved in film is pretty silly considering that I’ve attended film school and it’s practically 50/50 when it comes to the gender ratio, some classes even more, and yet men are seen as the default when it comes to making films (or in ANY workplace). If they weren’t interested in film, why did they go through the trouble of studying it in the first place? Their hard work and passion is rewarded with prejudicial comments that women don’t want to direct or that no one wants to see stories about women, like they’re somehow alien creatures that no one can understand. It’s absolutely horrible. Telling stories is a powerful tool to spread beliefs and influence our culture. If anyone asks “Why is it even important? They’re just films.” By that argument, why are we even studying film? Why are we even making films if we can just show a series of images onto anything? If images don’t mean anything to you, why is it that Captian Kirk kissing Uhura in was such a huge controversy? I thought you said that images don’t matter, so why should that scene create a scandal? Because the truth is that images do matter. That episode fo , one of the earliest shows to feature an interracial kiss, and thanks to examples like those that challenged the status quo, it’s a lot more common place than it ever was before. If we can challenge those images and allow people to see for themselves what kind of stories we can tell, then we can make a change. It also matters who is telling the stories, because having more women would allow them to offer their perspectives on womanhood. Having female directors for all of

Season 2 of made perfect sense, both to offer more opportunities for women to direct, as well as the content itself, as the series features a female superhero and a commentary on gender and female characters. I’m not saying that men can’t ever write women. My favourite filmmaker Hayao and Miyazaki, famous for animated films such as (my favourite film) usually features very complex, compelling, heroic and developed female protagonists. The issue is allowing women to tell their own stories just as much as men were allowed to, especially if they tell womens’ stories in ways that men could never understand. Men could write women, but some of those perspectives can be based around their own perceptions or assumptions of women, and thus might create dangerous or unintentional tropes. If there are more women who can offer a more insightful representation of women are certainly welcome to challenge or break down any of those assumptions, images or stereotypes. It’s a change that matters on a much larger scale. If would even be more beneficial if many of those stereotypes can challenge both perceptions of femininity AND masculinity by breaking down gender norms on both sides. If we limit ourselves to men’s voices, we are gonna miss out on women’s voices and they’re not going to get their chance to be creative, or men would continually speak for women, when women should be allowed to speak for themselves and be heard. I’m glad measures are being taken to have more female-led stories, and more female cast and crews. Especially with the recent movements like metoo and timeisup, things are definitely changing for women, and I hope it continues. However, we’re still plagued by a male-dominated system where they hire more men for cast and crew and still make more films with male protagonists than they do of female protagonists. I was baffled that anyone would state that having a second franchise in a row (Jyn Orso in after female protagonist in a Rey in ) or that having a fully-female cast in a film was “going too far”. It’s just silly. No one ever complained of a film having too many male characters. How is that not going too far? Generally I dislike the phrase “politicaly correctness is going too far”, because prejudice has gotten away with it for far longer. Having more women behind and in front of the camera would both offer more opportunities in the workplace, as well as offer a much wider perspective of who women are and what kind of stories can be told, and how they can challenge both the art form and storytelling. I also hope that it becomes more intersectional, since elements like culture, race, social class, sexuality, religion, diability, etc, is also very important to allow for inclusivity beyond gender, and also have a more expansive conversation of female stories. It also encourages women with less privileges to take on the directing and

interview

Women Cinemakers

interview

Women Cinemakers producers’ chair. The more we allow others to tell their stories, the more perspectives and variety in stories we can get, and the more role models we can show for women in film, whether it’s more current examples like Ava DuVernay, Kathleen Kennedy and Greta Gerwig, or earlier examples like Agnès Varda and Alice Guy, the more they can leave a path for other women to follow. We’re still getting there, but I’m glad it’s improving and more women are given the platform to be heard and seen. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Daniella. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? I’m currently writing a couple of short films, one of which is a film called , which tells a story of unrequited love and which I also want to make into a visuallydriven and subjective journey. Another short film I’m developing is about a girl having to tell her parents about a bad grade she got from a test, and I wanted to offer a little comentary on the education system and family dynamics. I’d like to be able to direct more shorts to get myself more accustomed to directing and have more to my resume. I’m also working on a couple of feature film scripts, some of them fantasy-based and which I’m very excited about. My current feature script, on the other hand, is titled , which has many similarities in tone and feel with Greta Gerwig’s works like and . It tells the story about a young woman in London who recently gets fired from her job and decides to take steps into musical theatre by organising a concert with her friend. I decided I wanted to act in the film as the protagonist, partly because of my multi-cultural background which I wanted to incorporate into the character and themes, although it might change depending on whether I decide to co-direct or re-cast, so I’m working on my acting a little more. It’d be exciting to play the lead, both because I love singing and the script has many song numbers, and because I wrote the story around some of my experiences so it’s a very a personal journey. I’m quite proud of the story because it comments on a variety of subjects that I care about, from the value of art and entertainment, female and racial representation, multiculturalism, independence and taking control of one’s future, and conformity vs nonconformity. Also, if I have the time or the opportunity anytime soon, I’d like to make my fantasycomedy web series that makes fun of some fairy tale tropes while also celebrating them, as it’s an idea I’ve had for a very long time. I also wanted to play the main character in the series, and I’ve always wanted to work on comedy. Thank you so much for having me in your magazine! It’s a real honour and privilege, and I look forward to the future!

Women Cinemakers meets

Anna Lucchese Lives and works in SĂŁo Paulo, Brazil

I see my work as a river that I can use to jump into questions and swim my way out of conformity until I find meaning. It helps me to organize my memories and my relationship with the world around me.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Hello Anna and welcome to : to start this interview we would invite our readers to visit in order to get a wider idea about your production and we would like to ask you with a couple of questions about your background. You have a solid formal training and studied both in Brazil, in The United States as well as in Spain: how did these experiences influence your artistic evolution? Moreover, how does the relationship between your cultural background dued to your Brazilian roots and your travels address your work as a filmmaker? When I was 17, in 1998, I moved to the United States. My brother, who is an airplane pilot, was working for a Brazilian airline company and he had the offer to be based in Los Angeles for 2 years. He invited me to come along, finish High School there and apply for an American Film School. His offer was a

great opportunity for me. So, I didn't think twice. But, after 2 months I was living there, the airline company went bankrupt and I had another decision to make: should I stay there by myself or should I go back? I ended up staying there for 1 year and a half to finish High School and then, I went back to Brazil. In the United States, it was the first time I experienced solitude and also independence. I remember that during the time I was living by myself, the Columbine High School shooting happened and a lot of fear came with this solitude. Many years later, I saw a documentary film by the Brazilian filmmaker Petra Costa that was an important reference to me. It was a film about feminine solitude and it reminded me of the time I was living in Los Angeles. Her film made me access my memories in an identification process, like a mirror. Her work had a great influence on my first feature documentary film IDENTITIES, released in 2015. In this film, I talk about my relationship with my hometown, SĂŁo Paulo. I start the documentary describing the sensation of feeling like a foreigner in the place I was born, after spending some time abroad and coming back.

Anna Lucchese (photo by Maria Fernanda Luvizotto)

Photo by CauĂŞ Ferraz

Women Cinemakers When I came back to Brazil, I studied Communication with an emphasis in Broadcasting. During the time I was in University, I made two independent films, a short fiction called THE BOTTLED DOG and a medium-length documentary called PASSERBY’S LOOK. Both works were selected and awarded in Brazilian film festivals. The first film was about an alcoholic who faces the guilt of running over a person while under the influence of alcohol. I spent a week going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings to understand their universe, and it was also a very interesting experience to study a different form of solitude that comes with addiction. The second work was about a street drama group and their relationship with their audience, passerbys, mainly homeless people. Their play was called THE STREET IS A RIVER. The experience with this drama group called TABLADO DE ARRUAR had a great impact on me, and the documentary I made with them is still one of my favorite works. At that point, I discovered a powerful tool making documentaries, a tool that somehow helped me to organize life around me. My references at that time were Orson Welles and his film F FOR FAKE and Chris Marker and his films CHAT PERCHÉS and LA JETEE. They had a very personal form of putting together fragments of life. I wasn’t interested in reality per se nor the truth about things. What caught my attention while studying documentaries was the way people deal and interpret life around them and how we find meaning putting together a chaotic and unexpected puzzle of fragments of experiences. In PASSERBY’S LOOK, one of the actors I interviewed illustrates a little bit of this process. He said, “once a homeless person asked me ‘Are you a street drama group?’ and I said, ‘yes’. So, he replied, ‘you know, when you’re living in the streets, if you’re not a good actor, you don’t survive.’" There was also another episode that I never forgot. I was talking to a woman after they presented the play. She was part of a movement of homeless people who were trying to occupy empty buildings. This woman explained to me she identified a great deal with the play because she, like the character, once was looking for paper on the streets to collect and sell it. Then, another person pointed a knife to her and said that

Women Cinemakers she couldn’t get the paper in that area. And she continued, “the person was right, it was my mistake to invade his area to collect paper”. Her speech had a strong impact on me. How can she say that it’s right for someone to take her life over paper? How can she accept that and, in addition, feel guilty? Brazil isn't a easy place to understand. Fear is part of everyone’s daily routine and it's hard to find a way out. Interacting with the streets' life was also very important to my development. After working for 2 years in small production companies in Brazil, I decided to study abroad again. I studied Film Directing in Barcelona, Spain, in 2007. I also joined a project organized by a group called ROOTS AND ROUTES INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION during the time I lived in Spain. This association creates interdisciplinary projects with young artists, promoting social and cultural diversity in arts and media. My project was a short documentary about foreigners living in Barcelona. At this point, I developed a great interest in the subject of identity. This first experiment lead me to a research that would become my documentary IDENTITIES years later. I was fascinated by the freedom I saw in the people and in the art in Barcelona. People in Catalunya knew who they were and they’ve been fighting for this identity for a long time. They’ve been through war, Franco’s dictatorship and so many other things that I would never fully understand. But this memory was everywhere in the city. There is a small square in the Gothic Quarter in the district of Ciutat Vella in Barcelona, called PLAÇA DE SANT FELIP NERI, that still has the marks of a bombing attack on it’s walls. It’s an impressive image, specially for someone who has no idea of what a war is. I was curious and I started to spend some time practicing something that I would discover later had a specific name: flâner. So, I would stroll around for hours when I had some free time. The streets in Barcelona were very lively and safe. And it made me remember how we live in prisons in São Paulo/Brazil, surrounded by fear and insecurity. And that made me feel like talking about myself and the middle class people in my hometown. All these fragments of experiences in the U.S., Brazil and Spain helped me to organize

Photo by Maria Fernanda Luvizotto

Picture: Alberto Castro / Art: MaurĂcio Kenzo

Women Cinemakers some things related to my personal life and to my artistic process, but they also filled me with a lot of questioning. we have selected For this special edition of , a stimulating documentary that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. While walking our readers through the genesis of , would you tell us what did address you to explore the theme of the identity that builds itself in the everyday life of São Paulo? When I got back to São Paulo, after living in Spain, I remember I wanted to go to the movies one day. I was at my mom's house and she lived in the suburb area. First, I thought about taking a bus to the Movie Theater, but I realized it would take around 2 hours to get there. So, I asked my mom if I could borrow her car, but she reminded me that the price I'd have to pay for parking lot in central area wasn't worth the time saving. I gave up going to the movies that day. I used to go jogging at the beach in Barcelona. I also tried to do that in São Paulo, at our Central Park at night. At night? "No, it's too dangerous", people would advise me. What kind of everyday life is that? I was feeling awkward in São Paulo. I didn't feel like myself. The experience in Spain had changed me. So, one day I met a German girl and she invited me to go jogging at the park at night. I mention it wasn't safe. But that habit was part of her identity. She likes running in an open area and she's always done that in all the places she lived. She said, “If someone comes after us, we run.” It was so simple. I realized there is an interesting relationship between fear and freedom that is also related to who we decide to be. So, we started running at the park. It was amazing to discover we can build our identify as an act of disobedience in our routine. So, the genesis of IDENTITIES is this personal search to find my place again in the city I was born with the help of foreigners. It was an exercise to put myself and the viewers in another position, trying to find a way out of our problems, something to replace this useless energy we get from complaining all the time. One of the characters says in the

Photo by Marc Dourdin documentary that, when she arrived in São Paulo, a lot of people gave her their fears and at one point she decided to stop accepting all of them, "these fears I can take, those others, aren't for me". Here, again, we have this powerful thing that is how people interpret life around them and how this filter can help us to build a different environment for ourselves. Could you tell us something about the collaborative nature of your approach to filmmaking? In particular,

how would you consider the relationship between the necessity of scheduling the details of a shooting session and the need of spontaneity? How much importance does play improvisation in your process? I think it's always nice to try different processes to achieve particular results while making documentaries. Right now, I am studying crowdsourcing and collaborative creation using material from people recording themselves. There's an

experiment called TWO WAY STREET made by Cao GuimarĂŁes, a Brazilian visual artist, in 2002, that really caught my attention about the possibilities of collaborative work. In this project, he asked characters to exchange houses and gave them cameras so they could record the otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s environment and express their opinion about someone they didn't know just by describing the impression they had in their home. I was very impressed with the documentary he made with this material. He didn't have any control nor gave any directions during the shootings, he left the

Photo by Marc Dourdin characters alone and allowed them to represent themselves in this experience. This kind of collaborative approach can be used in a different level if we think about all the interactive media we have access nowadays and if we take in consideration this tendency that people are willing to express themselves and open their intimacy more and more through social media. Although, these techniques don't guarantee spontaneity. We all represent roles in different situations to cause an impression about ourselves to the spectator. To

achieve a deeper and more consistent result the filmmaker needs time to observe the characters. And I like to try multiple approaches and interactions to see how they react. People are different from each other and one technique can work with one character in this pursue to achieve spontaneity and fail with others. When I shot IDENTITIES, I decided to be with the characters, not just like an interviewer with a list of questions, but I organized it in a way that I would spend time with them, experiencing with them part of their everyday life. I tried to be

Women Cinemakers help me to be open to be surprised are very important to me and I think that it's what brings authenticity to the work. In Identities you explore your relationship with your hometown by starting to describing the sensation of feeling like a foreigner in the place you were born. How did your personal experience as a migrant fuel your creative process? How would you consider the relationship between direct interaction with other people and your creative process? Do you think that a creative process could be disconnected from perceptual reality?

as present as possible in the situation, reacting with what was going on, and opening this space for the chance to happen and for the curiosity that came during the experience. It's very hard to be present in a moment nowadays, especially if you have a shooting schedule and 10 people around you with equipments waiting for the unpredictable. That's one of the reasons I am also shooting my current work alone. Sometimes, you just need to open this space for the story to present itself. So, answering your question, yes, improvisation and all the techniques that

The creative process is always related to the artist's experiences. It can't be disconnected. I think, first, there is the curiosity about life around me, my relationship with the world, that includes social, economic, political and specially, cultural references. All the experiences I have growing up in a 3rd world country and then moving abroad are an important fuel to start with. Then, there's the exchange of experiences with other people, specific human beings that I have an emotional bond with, and this direct interaction is also an important part of my creative process. And, finally, there is my inner world made of imagination and subconscious elements that interpret in its own logic all these experiences. No one sees reality as it is. We have a filter. We take our conclusions about reality and extract meaning through it using imagination. My actions come from my desire and this feeling comes from how I image life. For example, in IDENTITIES, I decided to interview foreigners who moved to SĂŁo Paulo because they wanted to, they were all middle class and they enjoyed life here. That was directly related to what I wanted to live, I wanted to build an identity here like they did, I wanted to find other models of behavior different from the ones I was used to. I like to experience things to be able to talk about them. Once, I heard a poet saying in an interview, "poetry can't be greater than life". The creative process is the way I use to connect myself to perceptual reality and not the opposite.

Photo by Alberto Castro

Women Cinemakers

As you have remarked once, you have been fascinated by the freedom you saw in the people and in the art in Barcelona, despite the situation in your hometown: Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once stated, "the artist’s role differs depending on which part of the world you’re in. It depends on the political system you’re living under". What could be in your opinion the role of a filmmaker in our contemporary age? Does your artistic research respond to a particular cultural moment? I see the role of a filmmaker in our contemporary age as someone who is taking sometime to observe and organize our fragmented experiences and search for some meaning and critical thinking about them. Each artist has a specific filter, as I mentioned, a way of seeing things based on their experiences. It’s important for us, as a society, to analyze the same subject in different perspectives. It’s like practicing conversation. If you open yourself and listen to people who aren’t like you, life can be way more interesting. And this exchange of diversity is also an important tool for social change. We get used to life around us way more fast than we realize. Some very bizarre things become comum place in a blink. For example, a president can play nuclear war with another president using Twitter. A behavior like that would be considered inadmissible some years ago but, now, you can do that and still keep your job. In Brazil, the president was recorded talking about bribe with an executive of a big company. He didn’t get fire or went to jail. He made a speech and explained that this executive is known as someone who is always talking big and their conversation wasn’t for real. In my opinion, this excuse is related to this very particular cultural moment we’re living in. What’s is reality and what’s fiction? Are we all part of a reality show? Are we playing a game here? Everything is allowed now?

Picture: Alberto Castro / Art: Maurício Kenzo Nothing surprises us anymore? Let’s just keep our attention and anxiety until the next episode is released. The filmmaker needs to provoke the viewers taking them for a walk outside of this commun place we’ve got used to and try to make them feel awkward again. That’s when critical thinking reaches us and hopefully inspires some disobedience and social change. The research I am developing now was inspired, among other things, by a social movement that started on the internet. In

2017, I started to study contemporary art and political activism. The year before, I read about the killing of two female tourists murdered in Ecuador. Maria Coni and Marina Menegazzo were sexually assaulted and killed in February 2016 by two men who had offered them a place to stay. After this tragedy, a virtual campaign using the hashtag #travelsolo became viral and women from around the world used this social media tool to fight violence, taking their own experiences as solo travelers as

a political action against fear. This campaign started with a spontaneous text wrote by Guadalupe Acosta and posted in her personal Facebook profile. She wrote a description of what happened with Maria and Marina, but she used first-person in her speech like she was the one murdered. The development of these actions made me realize the power of â&#x20AC;&#x153;Iâ&#x20AC;? as a contemporary expression tool. Guadalupe brought a distant news story into her life as a personal experience that could

Photo by Alberto Castro happen to any woman. When other women read the text, they read â&#x20AC;&#x153;I was murderedâ&#x20AC;? and they could also feel like the protagonists of this horrible story. This sequence of events is related to a cultural movement based on specific forms of expression that are being developed in digital age. In a simple way, Acosta made these women feel awkward about life around them and they decided to do something about it. So, the

A still from

cultural influences I have in my artistic research took me to these recent studies about behavior in Digital Era and, as a result of that, I put together my new project called WHY DO I TRAVEL ALONE? You were particularly impressed with Petra Costa's , a film based on the life of the actress Elena Andrade, the director's older sister: how much this work did influence and inspire your artistic research?

Women Cinemakers extracting meaning thought some associations. Petra’s voice connects all the pieces in a confessional and poetic narrative. The film wasn’t exactly a documentary, neither a fiction, nor a visual poem. Watching it made me feel like floating in a river, in a state of an immersive process that worked for me as an exercise of misshaping the sensation of time. One poetic element the director uses is the reference of Ophelia, the character from William Shakespeare's drama HAMLET. In the play, Ophelia dies in the waters of a river. Petra Costa uses pieces of her personal imaginary puzzle to access her subconscious and to find a way to express herself. This work access collective memory related to feminine solitude, but it also uses Petra’s emotional and personal connection with her sister and, finally, it goes through her inner filter to deal with loss and sadness. This is universal and timeless.

Moreover, do you think that Costa's exploration of is still current?

I mentioned the killing of the two tourists in 2016. This year, a human rights activist called Marielle Franco was killed in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She was a black lesbian woman raised in the slam who received the fifth-most votes in the Rio de Janeiro city council elections. I can see feminine solitude in her biography since the day she was born until the day she was murdered. The killers didn’t even try to pretend it was a robbery. They just executed her as a message to society and to activists like her. But her voters represent another message: she isn’t alone like they wanted us to think. So, we still need to talk about these things. We also need to talk about how male solitude turns into violence and how this vicious circle keeps justifying tragedies and also making society see it as a commun place.

Petra’s sister committed suicide while living in the U.S. She had moved there to study acting and something changed inside of her during this experience. This work was important to me because of many elements she put together. She worked with fragments of memory organizing them and

We have highly appreciated the way accomplishes the difficult task of acting as a vehicle for dialogue, in order to break through the scepticism following the political decline of ‘ ': how much important is for you to trigger the viewer's cultural

Women Cinemakers parameters? What do you hope your spectatorship will take away from your work? As I said, I like to work with different points of views, different fragments of experiences put together to create this dialogue. In IDENTITIES, I built a dialogue or narrative between characters who never met. In the case of the film, I selected specific types of people. They were all middle class, around 30-40 years old, and had as a natural characteristic the constant reflection about life. So, they represented a very specific cultural niche. They had contradictions inside themselves but they followed the same kind of conflict related to, first, being dazzled by the city and, then, starting questioning it until, finally, finding their own way of living, that was related to their cultural background. I received a lot of critiques about my decision to talk about middle class in a country with so many invisible stories to be told. But something interesting happened when I started to talk with different kinds of audiences. First, I presented the film to young students who live in poor neighborhoods in São Paulo. Some of them questioned me why I thought this kind of film would interest them. I explained dialogue between people with different backgrounds is important to me. So, a girl raised her hand and started talking that it was very interesting for her to see a film about middle class, because she only had access to this environment in soap operas and they definitely didn’t look like the people I showed in IDENTITIES. Besides that, she also liked to see stories that weren’t based on violence and tragedy, because she was tired of seeing that in all the films and TV shows she had access to. I was really happy to see I triggered her cultural parameters in a way I didn’t imagine I could with my film. I also showed the film in CHINA’S WOMEN FILM FESTIVAL in Beijing and a man from the audience told me that, besides China’s and Brazil’s cultural differences, he was able to identify to a lot of aspects about living in a big city as an immigrant. Most part of the people in Beijing, he told me, comes from other parts of China and they also face questionings and

Photo by Alberto Castro conflicts in this adaptation. I was also happy to see I touched him in this way. My decision to provide more questions than answers with the film opened this space for interaction and interpretation. So, with that said, I hope the spectator has a personal relationship with the documentary based on the connection they make with the aspects of the story that they can relate to. Serbian performance artist Marina Abramovi once remarked the importance of not just making work but ensuring that it’s

seen in the right place by the right people at the right time: how is in your opinion online technopshere affecting

by the audience? Do

you think that today is easier

to a particular

niche of viewers or that online technology will allow artist to extend to a broader number of viewers the interest towards a particular theme?

We have a lot of interesting tools now but weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re still figuring out how to use them. Everytime a new technology comes, we need some time to develop a language and an interesting use of it. The problem is that technology tools are coming and going really fast and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to keep a meaningful research about creative possibilities when time is against you. I see more excitement about the arise of new tools than about the evolution they could bring to communication and art. I am studying these possibilities

Photo by Alberto Castro with my new project WHY DO I TRAVEL ALONE? I want to create an installation with fragments of experiences from female solo travelers. Online behavior and how to use social media to reach a particular niche is part of my research. I can tell it isn’t easy. We have a tendency to copy models of behavior and it becomes comum place really fast as well. It’s hard to engage an audience when you offer something different from what they’re used to. I enjoy good conversations and debates. I notice that it’s complicated to achieve that using just virtual connections. The

formula I am trying now is a mix of internet technology with old fashion get-together. Let’s see how it works! Many women were involved in the development of : so, before leaving this interesting conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in the contemporary filmmaking scene. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from producing something 'uncommon',

Women Cinemakers of them were men. Now I can see that. Somehow, in an unconscious process, I started to distance myself from tradicional female stardarts, because I didn’t identified with them. Models of behavior are very important to us and I just started to think about it very recently. This process is directly related to this female spring that took over in the last couple of years. I also started to discover a different feminine self with these new models of behavior that are arising. So, I can picture a lot of diversity when I think about the future of women in interdisciplinary fields. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Anna. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? I will tell you a little bit more about WHY DO I TRAVEL ALONE? When I started this project, I thought it would become a documentary TV series but it evolved to a master’s research that I am working on at the art department of UNESP, a Public Brazilian University. I am studying creative process using internet technology with techniques from documentary and visual art fields.

however in the last decades women are finding their voices in art: how would you describe your personal experience as an unconventional artist? And what's your view on the future of women in this interdisciplinary field? This is huge and there’s no turning back. It’s a strong movement that is changing our perspectives about so many things! I never saw my gender as a limitator. But if I look back to my models of identity, to the people I admired and who I wanted to be like, most

How do women transform fear into curiosity? What is the role of mobility in this process? How does moving from the virtual space to the outside world can change contemporary society? These are some of the questions that came to my mind when I read about the story of the two argentinian tourists that were killed in Ecuador in 2016 and the virtual campaign that followed it, encouraging female solo travels to face fear and go. Images, sounds, words, selfies, memes. These pieces of narratives were used to build an autobiography or an autofiction. In other words, these travelers were trying to create an identity made of who they were and who they wanted to be. The intention of this project is to collect this fragments of experiences and put them together in search of reflection and meaning. The idea is that art,

Women Cinemakers internet and activism can be used as an interesting tool to develop critical thinking about contemporary society. In 1995, Sherry Turkle, in her LIFE ON THE SCREEN, wrote about gender expansion using cyberspace. She realised women could use the internet to hide their gender, creating a neutral identity and, with that, express themselves more freely. The campaign #travelsolo demonstrates that this anonymity is being replaced by a new feminine self now. Women are moving. And there is an important relationship between mobility and identity. People act according to the environment. Everyone wears a mask to survive in society. But when you have the possibility to move to different places, you can try new masks and choose the ones that fit you better. The idea of the installation I want to create with this collaborative material is not to answer the question â&#x20AC;&#x153;Why do I travel alone?â&#x20AC;? but, instead, leave the issue to be answered by the public in their own interpretation of contemporary society. Also, I intend to give some space for the spectators to ask themselves about their personal role in this fragmented experience we live in. This project represents a lot of what I look for in my art and how I see my creative process evolving. These different tools and concepts I am putting together have been part of my life and production in different ways since the beginning. Technology is just adding a little bit of spice to the process. In conclusion, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been using this experimental way of working to organize and find meaning in all the fragments I have with me as an individual living in contemporary society as well.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Photo Heloisa Ururahy

Women Cinemakers meets

Rania Iraki Lives and works in London, United Kingdom

Raised by Palestinian parents in Norway, Rania discovered at a young age that she was fascinated by quirky and distinctive characters, whether it was performing or watching them. Telling their stories is something she has always enjoyed, and realising she could do so with film, Rania decided early on that she wanted to be a filmmaker. She left Norway for London in 2012 to study BA Film and Television at the University of Westminster and to further her career in directing. She directed her first film Lily and the Revolution in 2014 which was shot on 16mm film. Her most recent work has been the thriller Sour Milk and two short films, Life in a Tupperware Box and 2.17 AM, the latter being one she wrote as well. She is currently in development for shortform narrative with a group of collaborators and in the process of developing a script about her father's time working as a doctor in a Palestinian refugee camp in the mid-70s. Rania stands for collaboration, hard work and having fun whilst doing so. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Hello Rania and welcome to WomenCinemakers: we would like to invite our readers to visit http://www.raniairaki.com in order to get a synoptical idea about your current production and we would start this interview with a couple of questions about your background. You have a solid formal training and you

hold a BA of Film and Television that you received from the prestigious the University of Westminster in London. How did this experience influence your evolution as a filmmaker? And what did address you to express in this medium? Hello and firstly Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to thank you for this interview. The experience that I had at the Film and TV course was life changing and truly developed me as a filmmaker. The course itself ran like a production company where our

tutors were guiding us through the filmmaking process rather than telling us how to make the perfect film. It gave us an opportunity to learn from our mistakes and praised us when we did well. I was fortunate enough to be able to direct a few projects whilst I was there as it was competitive as to who got the different roles. I had a background in theatre which I studied in high school in Norway, but soon realised that I preferred the production aspect of this medium rather than the performing side. I have always had a great passion for films and telling stories whether through film, theatre or music. It has always been a huge part of my life ever since I was very young. I believe that film is a powerful tool to tell untold stories about the people that surround you and the unique experiences that occur in day to day life. For this special edition of WomenCinemakers we have selected 2.17 AM, a captivating film that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your insightful inquiry into the concept of fear is the way your sapient narrative provides the viewers with such an intense visual experience, enhanced by elegant composition. While walking our readers through the genesis of 2.17 AM would you tell us how did you develop the script of your film? 2.17 AM came from my own fear and imagination when I was walking in the dark at night. As silly as it sound I would often see a black creature or shape in the distance and would create different scenarios in my head of what it could be and what would happened once I got closer to it. It turned out, funnily enough, that it would be a plastic bag every single time. I found the movement of the plastic bag to be quite fascinating as it was floating very smoothly no matter the weather condition (a very weird fascination, I know). I realised that I wanted to make a film about this because everyone, especially women have this slight paranoia and are extra cautious when walking alone in the dark. We hear too many bad things that happen to us but there is also the fear that we create within ourselves that I specifically wanted to focus

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Women Cinemakers on in this film. I wanted the creature to represent our internal aniexty and how this affects us and show it through something as absurd as some floaty material in the distance. 2.17 AM features expressive color palette and elegantly structured composition: what were your aesthetic decisions when shooting? What was your choice about camera and lens? I worked very closely with the DOP Simona Pranulyt and the Production Designer Karolina Onusaityt on the visual aspects of the film. We did a few test shoots and wanted to make it a very intimate experience for the audience, as if they were on the same journey as Sophia (the main character). The audience only knows as much as she does, and we want the ending to be a unexpected for everyone who watches it. We were inspired the Massive Attack music video Voodoo In My Blood, where the camera movement is controlled by the characters and as a viewer you are unable to predict was it going to happen next. From that music video, we were intrigued by how this relationship worked and found that this style would help convey the claustrophobic feeling that our character was experiencing. We wanted the colours to be quite vibrant to contrast the situation that Sophia is about to face. It was important for us to have a location that also was a part of the story to create the “point of no return”, which helped the story have a reason to exist in a way. If the film took place on a open street, there would have been several opportunities for Sophia to get out of the situation she was in or call for help. The tunnel gives her no option than to move forward and as she enters the tunnel she doesn't want to attract any more attention towards her so she continues to walk. The colours in the tunnel are very warm yet eerie to show the juxtaposition between the aesthetic of the film and what the character was going through. I like to play with contrasts within film, specifically between the emotions that the characters are going through and what the audience can see themselves, visuals,

Women Cinemakers music and other elements. I think it adds more to the story and creates an atmosphere which makes the viewer question the underlying message. We like the way you created entire scenarios out of ordinary still psychologically charged moments: what are you hoping 2.17 AM will trigger in the audience? 2.17 AM is a film that deals with an issue that I believe that most women are concerned about, and that is their own safety when they are walking alone at night. It is certainly a film that I believe represents those fears in a form of reality as well as fantasy. The reality of it is that we constantly have to be aware of our surroundings when we are alone, and the fantasy is a creature appearing out of nowhere that represents the internal anxiety and paranoia that comes with our fears. I am hoping that 2.17 AM will give someone a character to relate to, that creating scenarios in your head about the most irrational things isn't abnormal. I think most people are very good at jumping to the worst conclusion and in this case Sophia does it but it all turns out to be fine right before the end. However, I wanted to have that twist in the end to give a shock element to the audience about our worst nightmare become reality. It is a fine line between what reality is and what reality is when fear takes over our mind, as it often alters the rational side of our minds and that is what I particularly wanted to explore. The shooting style of 2.17 AM is marked out with recurrent close shots that provide your film with such captivating intimacy: how did you develop your editing style? I think the editing style reflects the panic that Sophia is going through - at the beginning of the film the camera movement is quite smooth with barely any cuts, and it is not until we see

Women Cinemakers Sophia realise that she has to either face her stalker who's behind her or the creature in front of her. The editing suddenly become frantic and this is to echo her internal angst and her sense of panic and confusion. We chose to edit this in this particular style to highlight the emotional journey that Sophia is going through. But this way of editing also causes for an uneasy watch for the audience and I felt like it was necessary for them to have a sense of what she was going through not only by looking at her but also through the pace and the rhythm of the film itself. The film is only one minute and thirty seconds long and there is a lot going though her mind within that time, so that is where the editing becomes a very important part of telling the story. Another interesting work that has particularly impressed us and that we would like to introduce to our readers is entitled Lily and the Revolution, that was your first film shot on 16mm: in particular, we have appreciated that though your inquiry into the personal sphere of the character of Lily seems to be very analytical, yet your film strives to be full of emotion: how would you consider the relationship between analysis and spontaneity within your work? In particular, do you like spontaneity or do you prefer to meticolously schedule every details of your shooting process? Lily and the Revolution was a very challenging yet rewarding film to shoot as it was the first film that I directed. When you are shooting on 16mm, there is a certain discipline that comes with the production. We spend a lot of time blocking the camera movements as well as rehearsing with the actors before production and during. Due to budget restrictions as well, we only had a limited amount of reels that we could shoot on, so everything had to be properly planned. Saying that, I still allow for improvisation and spontaneity on set as I believe the best performances come out of these situations. I am sure like any other filmmaker, not everything goes to plan and perhaps the

Women Cinemakers shot that you had scheduled did not execute what you wanted to show, so you have to be on your feet and always think of different ways of telling the story but also remaining true to the narrative. Sapiently shot, Lily and the Revolution springs dynamism out of each scene: we would like to ask you to tell us some interesting stories from the set: can you tell us something about the collaborative nature of your process? In particular, what is your preparation with actors in term of rehearsal? There were two things that we were told during film school when it came to casting: Don't work with children and don't work with animals. With Lily and the Revolution we decided to do both. Working with children, especially Orla Hill who played Lily was an exceptional experience. With children you have to allow spontaneity and let them explore the character themselves. We worked very closely together and she immediately understood who the character of Lily was and how she would behave, which made my job a director very easy. I believe that it is very important to rehearse and block scenes but I also prefer to provide the actors with a run through of the scenes without giving them any notes, rather than giving them directions or notes straight away. This is so that I can see what they believe the character would do in a scene and build on their thoughts and have a open discussion about what is the right move. I feel like this opens up different avenues of where the story and the character can go and it makes their performance a lot more natural for them which makes the final result more realistic for the characters. I truly believe that directing is all about collaboration and taking on board other peoples ideas, which in my experience has made the films that I have directed better and created an atmosphere in which everyone feels like they have a piece of themselves in the production.

Women Cinemakers We couldn't do without mentioning Sour Milk, a captivating thriller marked out with penetrating atmosphere that seems to capture the sense anguish in everyday life's situations. We have been particularly impressed with your choice of locations, that seem to evoke particular moments of the viewers' personal imagery: how did you develop this interesting film and how did you select the locations? Sour Milk was a script that was made for our 3rd year graduation films, which didn't get selected. We had worked with the writer before as she wrote Lily and the Revolution and thought it would be such a shame not to give this script a life on the screen. I have always been fascinated by psychology and what drives people to do what they do and also how we rationalise things in our minds. In the case of the teacher in Sour Milk we decided to keep her mental state ambiguous in terms of what she might have been suffering with, whether it was paranoia, schizophrenia or the fact that she might have been right about Josie harming the people around her. The producer of Lily and the Revolution and myself approached the writer and we decided that we would make this film before we finished university, which gave us the opportunity to use their facilities and their equipment. We spent 6 weeks developing the script further and shaping the story to become more of a realistic thriller as it had more fantasy elements in the first draft. We assembled together most of the same crew that worked on Lily with additional crew members and shot the film in 7 days, with only 6 weeks of pre-production. We had an a great production design team who transformed all of the locations into elaborate and lived in places. The locations were all in and around the University, which the art department from scratch dressed into an elementary school classroom. The characters flat was in our housemates sisterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s house, who kindly let us trash the place and spend a day there. The flat was perfect as one of our primary colours of the film was red and the tiles in

Women Cinemakers the kitchen were a very deep red was a theme throughout the film. Again when it came to the style of the film, there was a juxtaposition between the characters emotions and journey and her surroundings. The classroom was light and colourful and whilst Miss Walker was distressed and paranoid, which I believe heightens her situation further and it becomes clearer throughout the film what is actually going on. Your films focuses on aspects from everyday life, as the theme of growing-up: to emphasize the need of a bound between creative process and direct experience, British artist Chris Ofili once stated that "creativity's to do with what's happening around you". How does everyday life's experience fuel your creative process? How does it direct your choices of the themes you explore? The films that I make definitely have an influence from my everyday life, but saying that it is not necessarily about me. I find the people around me, whether they are my closest friend or someone I have observed sat on the tube are my biggest inspiration and I draw from their experiences and world views. Whilst making my way into film industry I am part of managing a cinema in North London, and many of the people that I work with and the customers that walk through the front door have given me many ideas for scenarios and characters that hopefully will show up in future projects. I try and seek characters that are unique to the screen and that has something new to add to the world of film. You are currently in development for shortform narrative with a group of collaborators and in the process of developing a script about your father's time working as a doctor in a Palestinian refugee camp in the mid-70s: Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once stated, "the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s role

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Women Cinemakers differs depending on which part of the world you’re in. It depends on the system you’re living under": how much historical and current events direct your artistic research as a filmmaker? Moreover, how much could cinema contribute to shape the Zeitgeist? I am a big advocate for normalising specific aspects of life that have not been portrayed in a good light on screen (and off screen to be honest). As a Muslim woman, I find that the portrayal of Islam and Muslims in Film and TV is a big issue and this is something I would like to be a part of changing the views of. The misrepresentation of religion and culture in film has a huge imprint on audiences around the world and I do believe that films that represent Muslims or other races/religions and cultures in a bad light will make an impact on peoples opinion towards them. All it takes for a filmmaker is to simply change the culture of a character to a character with a minority background and that would 1) not change the narrative of the film and its purpose, but rather add depth to a character and their personality, and 2) it would normalise minorities and it would also give minorities someone to relate to on the big screen, which is a rarity in cinema and other media forms. Very often when I watch film I can’t see people that I relate to because they are simply not visible in film, and this is something that I would like to contribute to with my projects. My father’s diary is very relevant to wha has been happening with the refugee crisis in the Middle-East the past few years, and it is also a very personal story for me as it about both of my parents and their early stages of adulthood. My father had told me about his years in Lebanon as a doctor, but it wasn't until recently that his diary was translated to English and I was fortunate enough to read it. I had not realised how much my parents had gone through and it was very emotional flip the

Women Cinemakers pages and read about the horrors and the hardship that they experienced. I thought immediately that this story needs to be told to a broader audience as it is so real and so relatable to the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s current situation. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in cinema. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from getting behind the camera, however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. What's your view on the future of women in cinema? I think there has definitely been some progress of women in film, but there is definitely a long way to go. It seems like every time we take one step forward we also get hit by issues like harassment and gender pay gap which takes us back five steps. There is also not an issue with women filmmakers, but also women with minority background. For someone like me who is from a minority background I believe that there are even less of us that are able to make films about people that are like us. That is not to say that every person has to make films about exactly who they are and where they are from, but there are very often times where i watch a film and think to myself that this how would this male director know anything about going through a pregnancy or being a teenage girl at war? I think there is a point very a narrative needs to be told by people who know what they are talking about so that they can draw from real experiences and real emotion and these films are often giving away to someone else just because they have a name that people recognise. (Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m sorry I can feel myself getting riled up so I will slow down) The percentage of women directing and working in other roles such as cinematography and editing is still at a low and needs to be improved. But to do so, we need more women to be supported in these roles as I think we all know for a fact that are are more

Women Cinemakers women directors out there than the very few ones that we know the names of. I am hoping for the sake of my own future as well as other women who are pursuing the same one, that we are moving forward in this industry and that we will be given the same opportunity as everyone else, not because of our gender but because of our passion, hard work and talent. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Rania. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? I am currently in development of my father diary, as mentioned earlier, it is about his experience as a doctor in a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon during the mid-70. There is a lot of sensitive material to deal with and a lot of research to be done, but it is a project I am very passionate about and I am hoping that I will be able to fulfil my dream of developing the diary into a feature length film that many viewers will be able to relate to or empathise with. Now, despite my fatherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diary being a very serious and complicated story I also work a lot with comedy material and have written several short form narratives that I hope to develop into a web series and eventually television. I find that humour is a great way of normalising different aspects of life and it makes it easier for an audience to look at things with an open mind. Most of the narratives are based around Muslim characters and women and I aim to tell stories where representation is key and audiences are able to relate to what they see on screen. I very much enjoy the short form narrative but I am hoping one day that my stories and ideas will develop into long form TV shows. I would like to thank you all for taking your time to speak with me, it is such a honour to be a part of this magazine. I also want to say that opening conversations with women who are trying to break into film is such a great initiative from all of you and I look forward to more stories from Womencinemakers. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Women Cinemakers meets

Katie Damien Lives and works in Asheville, North Carolina

Katie Damien is an award-winning filmmaker with over a decade of commercial production and independent filmmaking experience, she has been awarded various accolades including eight Emmy Awards for her short form work, and both Gold and Mosaic American Advertising Federation awards. “Joint Effort” a short film she produced and directed won the grand prize in an international competition, the National Film Challenge and screened at the Cannes Film Festival. Her short film “Ghost Image” was awarded best short film at three different film festivals. Her first feature film, “My Toxic Backyard,” also won Best Documentary Film at the Greenpoint Film Festival and received 4 Emmy nominations.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier

interview we would like to invite our

and Dora S. Tennant

readers to visit

womencinemaker@berlin.com

Hello Katie and welcome to : to start this

in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production. After having

majored in Film Production from the University of Central Florida you started your career as a filmmaker: how did your studies inform the evolution of your creative process? Could you tell us your biggest influence and how did they affect your work? I actually started making movies when I was just twelve years old. Long before film school. I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t believe you need film school to make movies, however it will grow your network and move you forward in your craft by leaps and bounds. I really loved film school. I was able to try new and difficult things, take risks and fail, all without losing credibility, because I was in a supportive learning environment. For this special edition of we have selected , a captivating film that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this

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Women Cinemakers article. While walking our readers through the genesis of , would you tell how did you develope the script of your film? In particular, do you like spontaneity or do you prefer to meticolously schedule every details of your shooting process? Tickets Please was made for a weekend film competition so we were not able to prepare at all. I’m usually very detail oriented and I like to have everything planned out in advance, but for this film it was impossible since we didn’t know what we would be making until the competition started. What we did know is that we had two very talented lead actresses available: Mary McGahren and Bonnie Allen. I was on a small writing team with our lead writer Eruch Adams and Matt Shepard. Eruch is a talented writer and he’s incredibly funny. Matt, who also acted in our film, is multitalented and helped write the screenplay. But mainly Eruch did the writing

Women Cinemakers and I focused mostly on directing. Matt, Eruch and I have also collaborated on a feature film “One Hell of an Angel” that’s nearly finished. “One Hell of an Angel” is about a demon who stirs up trouble by asking too many questions in hell, he's banished to heaven and forced to work with an angel on an improbable mission to help a washed up rock star write a song that’s supposed to save the world. Like “Tickets Please” it’s a comedy, but with an element of fantasy. Elegantly shot, features stunning cinematography and from a visual point, we have been fascinated with your clear and effective approach to narrative: what were your aesthetic decisions when shooting? In particular, what was your choice about camera and lens? My Director of photography on Tickets Please was Ben Mulkey. He’s an incredibly

Women Cinemakers talented photojournalist with tons of film experience. We used his Sony F8, which is a camera I’ve used in the past. I love that camera. We used a variety of lenses. I prefer a shallow depth of field so whatever lens I’m using, I love shooting with a wide open aperture. It’s a lot more work keeping everything in focus, but I love how it isolates the subject from the rest of the frame. Ben’s quick reflexes kept our film sharp. I’m in post-production on a short film entitled “Hope” and for that film I had Greg Hudgins as my Director of Photography and we shot that with a Black Magic Camera and that might be my new favorite. If you don’t need to shoot slow motion, the Black Magic coupled with some nice Cine prime lenses makes a really crisp image. Having a talented DP at your side, also makes all the difference in the world. I’ve shot some of my own work when I didn’t have the

budget to hire someone else and its great experience, but for me it’s too distracting having to focus on what’s going on technically with the camera and still pay attention to the performances you’re getting from your actors. In this film you leave the floor to your characters, finding a simple still effective way to develope between their inner spheres and the viewers. Could you tell us what did attract you to this particular story? I have a younger sister so I loved playing with the dynamic of two siblings who get along well enough to live with each other, but clearly have opposing personalities. I have an amazingly supportive family. I’m incredibly lucky to have grown up surrounded by relatives I trusted and relied upon.

Women Cinemakers Your exploration of the characters seems to be very analytical, yet your film strives to be full of emotion: what was your preparation with actors in terms of rehearsal? Since we were on such a tight schedule, there really wasn’t any time for rehearsal. If the performances came out well, I will chalk it up to the talent of my actresses. Featuring urgent verve and compelling narrative drive leaps off the screen for its brilliant mise-enscéne: how would you characterize your cinematographic style? I really enjoyed choreographing my actresses’ movements in “Tickets Please.” I believe the movements of character can reveal a lot about them. Not only that, but placement in the frame can also reveal a lot about how they relate to each other. For example when we are first introduced

Women Cinemakers to Megan’s boss, she fills the camera frame and the doorway she’s standing in, boxing Megan in and making her appear small in the frame. You can clearly see who has all the power just from that one introductory shot. Later in the next scene Megan’s sister, Beth is positioned squarely in the middle of a sofa surrounded by clutter and wrapped in blankets. It’s a cacophony of things she’s wrapped herself in. In the foreground Megan paces back and forth. We can’t see her face, but we can feel Megan’s nervous energy in her pacing. Again the audience knows who has all the power in the relationship. Beth’s slovenly surroundings and her lower position in the frame compared to the pacing Megan tells us that Megan has the upper hand in this dynamic. Later Megan moves to sit next to Beth on the sofa, putting herself on the same

level when she wants to convince Beth to help her. We like the way you created entire scenarious out of psychologically charged moments: what are you hoping will trigger in the audience? I’m hoping that “Tickets Please” will evoke humor in audiences and also nostalgia for all the siblings out there. Even if you don’t have a brother or sister, I think most everyone can relate to having that person in your life who will stick their neck out for you. Our characters go on a wacky journey together and even as their situation becomes more desperate they, refuse to let each other down. Over the years you works have been screened in several occasions and you also won eight Emmy Awards: how

Women Cinemakers much importance has for you the feedback that you receive in the festival circuit? And how do you feel previewing a film before an audience? The film festival circuit is vital to any independent filmmaker and I am no exception. There’s a lot of rejection that goes with it because there is just so much good content out there. It hurts to be turned down, but you can’t let those setbacks get to you. I’ve made lots of great connections and even worked with film professionals that I met at film festivals. I’ve had so much great feedback from audiences at the festivals where my films have played. There’s nothing like having your film screen in front of a crowd and feeling the energy in the room. It’s nerve wracking as well. Especially for a horror or comedy film. If you have moments where there should be laughs or gasps and you hear crickets, it’s brutal. But you have to learn from those moments. You have to ask

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Women Cinemakers yourself, why didn’t that work? What did I miss? And do better next time. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in cinema. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from getting behind the camera, however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. What's your view on the future of women in cinema? I think the future for women in film is very bright. Most especially recently, there’s been a spotlight on disparities between women and men in the world at large and in film specifically. I can feel a new energy around me and the work that I’m doing. It’s very uplifting. I think this is a great time to be a women in the film industry! Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Katie. Finally, would you

Women Cinemakers like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? I have a really exciting project coming up. I’m finishing up post production on a short film entitled “Hope” and it’s based on a true story. When a widow with mental illness attempts suicide to free her son from the burden of taking care of her, she survives only to find herself homeless and alone. After a year of living in a shelter with no hope of overcoming her situation and reconnecting with her son, a case worker with Homeward Bound brings her into a program that turns her life around. Homeward Bound is a non-profit organization located in Asheville, North Carolina USA and their mission is to end homelessness by putting homeless people into permanent housing. This film is based on a women who is one of their many success stories. I’m so honored to have been trusted to tell such a difficult life story.

I’ve been so inspired by her life, her struggle and her ultimate success. I also have my first narrative feature film nearly wrapped up. “One Hell of an Angel” is the comedy feature I mentioned earlier. You had also mentioned a PSA I did for Homeward Bound called “A Veteran’s Journey” that is the story of a modern war veteran who goes overseas to fight, is injured, comes home where he can’t find work, he loses his fiancé, and his home and ends up on the street. He meets someone from Homeward Bound who puts him into housing and helps him get back on his feet and find work. It’s very uplifting and a good example of the kind of work Homeward Bound does. It was a challenge to fit so much into just one minute. That short starred Allen Law. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Women Cinemakers meets

Ashley O'Neal Lives and works in Cork, Ireland A collaboration of poetry, video, sound and music. Lily in the Ruins is a poem exploring the universal city, and the loss of great ethos of wildness in her people...that there is a language that is inner, as well as outer, always dancing, and always wishing to tell the tale of all parts of the journey of humanity...in the desolation and destruction, always a great flower grows...a great language resides....

An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Hello Ashley and welcome to WomenCinemakers: we would like to introduce you to our readers with a couple of questions regarding your background. Are there any particular experiences that influence your current practice? Moreover, how does your cultural substratum inform the way you relate yourself to art making? Thank you Women Cinemakers for this wonderful opportunity to discuss my work and tell you about the journey I have taken with my art and life.

I am artist based in the deep west of Ireland, a place of deep mythological and historical presence. I started out as a painter, exploring physical landscape as well as inner landscape, this came from many moves across the Atlantic, over many years, in a great time in the world. I lived rurally and within cities and this had a great influence on my work. During these past couple of years, I looked to understand a pattern that was moving in the world, through the visual landscape. Painting has gone through a deep transformation in the psyche of humanity, as its stillness has had to compete with a vast amount of moving images, as well as find a way to convey presence in the singular. As time went by, I found a need growing, to express through the word, my deeper need to say aloud what the soul of humanity needed to

say, which led me into poetry. I began to realize, a deep longing growing, while also recognizing a vast amount of knowledge was beginning to be lost, so in many ways, I did a sort of walkabout across the ancient lands of Ireland to find where it had gone, and where was the great lake of true knowledge. Ireland is a vast deep reservoir of ancient knowledge, that sits within the land itself. So for a time, I took a sojourn into the deepest of realms, where the great dreamtime sits. I stepped away from the river of progress and began to explore the language of the land, through its poems, songs and myths. Ireland has always been a place where the story was paramount, where heroes wandered within realms that remained invisible, but were felt. The ancient peoples always listened, so for a time I stood at the great edge of the world, which was what the west of Ireland was known as, and I paused and waited. And so began my journey to see that ancient time was still alive, still speaking, and still wishing to pass on its wisdom. I had to dig into the strata of people, place, and land, to find the elemental purpose of existence, while recognizing a voice was trying to speak, after 1000â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s of years, again. Irish society was set up in a manner, where the arts were held in the highest regard, and the role of the artist had disappeared, and I found this same event occurring again, in the 21st century, so I asked to be shown what has gone wrong, and what can my work do to heal this great juncture that humanity now find itself. I began a dialogue with the land itself, and so began the doorway into film for me. I asked the nature within me and outside of me, to show me its language and its living purpose, so that I might tell its story, for future generations.

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Women Cinemakers For this special edition of WomenCinemakers we have selected Lily in the Ruins, a captivating video poem that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article and that can be viewed at https://vimeo.com/242953454. What has at once captured our attention of your insightful inquiry into notion of the universal city is the way your research challenges the convention of representing the relationship between Nature and Humanity, providing the viewers with such stimulating multilayered experience. When walking our readers through the genesis of Lily in the Ruins, would you tell what did draw you to focus on this theme? “Lily in the Ruins” was a project that came out of need to express the language of the city in the 21st century, and how the character and myth of progress was competing with the ancient way of walking towards the earth. Cities and their outward growth throughout history are a microcosm of the human development towards community. We as a people have organized ourselves in various ways throughout history, and as we slowly watch this development, we can see the stripping away of the innate nature of the human paradigm from a living mechanism. Cities are created by people, but now we live, where the cites are dominated by a source of progress that has no merit or conception of the dwellers needs. If we return to the ancient way of living, and our movements, we will see, we followed the patterns of nature, and cities have now moved further into the realms of the shadow product of the human’s psyche of alienation and isolation. I wanted to explore why the city as a person, was dying, and also discuss what has been lost amongst people as the carry

on in their to day to day lives from a deeper level of consciousness. The language of the artist has been pushed away from the center of discussion in the creation of society, but also the way the role of the artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spirit has gone underground. When making this films I collaborated with the filmmaker Artem Trofimenko , and we walked the streets and explored the city of Cork, as our universal space, to see how after many, many years, the city is being walked into the 21st century. We went to the places of destruction, the places of industrial development that lay in ruin, and hidden places where the poetry of the streets still sits. We looked for the wildness, that still remained, while also looking for how nature abides within the cracks of places, despite the progress that moves people along. The artist at this time is a collector of the discarded parts of life, and existence and the trove of treasures lay in the tiredness, and empty spaces where the psyche of peopleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s dreams go unmined. From the view of a lone figure in the crowd, was the stance of the camera, as well as the voice.Images from the desolate landscape that lay ignored, came forward, and full of innate poetry and humanity, as we wandered. We allowed ourselves to be led by this figure, who for a time, had no name, or face, but was a presence. The figure became Lily. She is related to the figure of Lilith from mythology. Lilith was the woman who had been banished from the Garden of Eden, and was forced to live in the outer reaches of naturesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wildness. She is archetype that is so prevalent in these times, because she represents the part of the feminine in our lives, that has seen the darker reaches of life, but also remains the cradler for the lost, the abandoned and the forgotten.

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Women Cinemakers Featuring stunning landscape cinematography by Artem Trofimenko and intimate poetry, Lily in the Ruins features such insightful combination between poetry, video, sound and music . What were your aesthetic decisions to achieve such a consistent unity? How did you select the location and how was the editing process in order to balance the relationship between images and audio? When making the film, we worked backwards, at least in the sense that we went out filming, with only the title in mind, and allowed that to lead us to the images we needed. We worked with a sort of force, but also an invisible mythological character to guide us to what we needed to see. We were secondary figures to the greater subject that wished to speak, but also to show. We collected imagery over several weeks, very loosely, before we began to place the images into a film format. Poetry is often a form that speaks around a subject, rather than directly, and this language allows for quite a lot of reflective space, as well as a purposeful stance for the viewer, to mine what is knowingly within. I wanted this project, to be an invocation to the sadness of a people and their city, but also to reveal what abides as historyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s pages turn to quickly. Each aspect of the film, from sound, music, and poetry fell in into place, quite naturally, because we put trust into a language that speaks of a higher purpose, but also a higher voice. The poem was created at the very end of this process, as I wanted to use the experiences of wandering and seeing, to allow for the voice to be real and pure and speak naturally. The poem was ultimately written under an ancient willow tree, is apart of the under-lying tradition of Orpheus. He moved alongside the Lilith essence that emerged as the film was pieced together. All parts of the film came together as one, by making each strand equal to the whole. We focused on the

Women Cinemakers idea of the fifth, which is film, sound, poetry, music, and audience. The meeting of the fifth element is the doorway into other realms, and this is essentially what the figure of Lilth represents. We have highly appreciated the non-chronological nature of your project and we daresay that your successful attempt to offer an alternative to the linear-temporal approach to the representation of environment questions the viewers'perceptual parameters. How did you structured Lily in the Ruins in order to pursue such stimulating outcome? Were you particularly interested in triggering the viewer's perceptual parameters in order to address them to elaborate personal interpretations? With the making of Lily in the Ruins we sought out a way to invoke in the viewer a sense of reflection, but also a sense that an activation needs to occur in the sleeping psyche of a people. The language of humanity at this time, finds itself completely lost, or else in throes of chaos, and this was the driving force behind doing a very non-traditional approach to making a film. The foundation of the project was driven by a need to break time, to cut through the chaos, and show a new language, that might open a doorway into the emerging consciousness, that lay dormant in the past several years, if not within centuries. Film as a genre, has had so many transformations, and recently it has moved into the realm of consumption, rather than reflection, and stillness. The mind has become distance from the presence of nature, and so a deep searching has had to take place to write a language, that allows the viewer to know what is underneath the chaos. A sort of unearthing has had to take place, like the way a shaman who goes to the otherworld to seek out the aliment of the

Women Cinemakers soul, he must come back with what has been lost, and that language is usually non-linear. Lily in the Ruins addresses to the viewers a message of hope, that in the desolation and destruction, always a great flower grows. What do you hope the viewers take away from your film? â&#x20AC;&#x153;Through me you go into the city of weeping; Through me you go into eternal pain; Through me you go amongst the lost people.â&#x20AC;? Dante Alighieri (The Inferno) Since the beginning of this century, I have followed a journey, that was unexpected, and through many a doorway, that remained invisible to the outside world. This hidden world resided in the artist, and her language, and her guidance has held me to a sort of contract, a duty that is endowed on all artists, when they decide to speak of great truths. Just as Dante Alighieri did in the 14th century, at a time when Europe was in the throes of its own displacement, in thought and culture, this time, this world, holds many similarities. The above quote has been a sort of totem in my own journey as an artist, poet and filmmaker, as it speaks widely of the exploration that I have sought in understanding displacement of ideals and virtues that need to brought back into the light. Sometimes the artists has to go to the far reaches of the empire, to see where truth resides. I also am directly aware of the bridge that exists between 2 centuries, and two types of knowledge, and I believe that has revealed the need to include

Women Cinemakers many different genres within film-making at this time, as the universal is a tactical entity. Reminding us of the concept of non-lieu elaborated by French anthropologist Marc AugĂŠ, The Lost Ones shows a keen eyes for emotional truth: both realistic and marked out with dreamlike quality, this project seem to unveil the bridge between outside reality and our inner landscape. How do you consider the relationship between reality and imagination within your process? Moreover, do you think that your being a woman provides your artistic research with some special value? â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Lost Onesâ&#x20AC;? is project that is related to a novel I am currently editing. This project was started after the turn of the century, and was directly related to being a painter in New York at the time, after September 11th, and realizing a great cut in humanities fabric had ultimately created a divide in the progressive language of humanities exploration of higher ideals. I watched as the over- culture began to take over the softness and gentle language of life, and turn it into a empty, desolate culture of consumption. I could see very clearly that a voice had remained within the debris, but also would be discarded for a time. My instinct told me, that a discussion would need to happen in the future, about this time, but also about what would be lost if what lay before was wiped away. I wanted to take on the theme of the exile, but from the country of life, rather than specific place. I chose to use an anonymous female figure to discuss the theme of alienation so that the universal could make its cry of woe. This figure travels through the landscape of the mind, and emotion, to explore the way imagination tethers us to a

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Women Cinemakers degree of mythological resonance. She is holder of the old knowledge of life, but is in doubt to what that purpose holds, when the foundation of society has fallen apart. This figure travels through various landscapes, of unknown origin, but familiar to the spirit, and to the soul. She is a character that has existed for time immortal, but has remained an outsider. Her alienation, allows her to speak out loud on themes that have been hidden, but also travel to worlds that are suspended within the imagination. Through her wanderings she meets various figures, that are guides, and that tell of what she needs to do with the knowledge that has always remained and been passed down for generations. She is the wisdom trying to emerge, but is within realms unnamed. In relation to being a woman, and the influence that has on my work, I innately understand the significance of being a woman at this time in the world, the freedoms that have been fought for, and bestowed upon me by those who suffered, and died for. I recognize that I can speak out of gentleness to get my point across, for the truth within is solid and firm, even if it is met by a prejudice out of confusion or disrespect. I see myself as a teacher and as a student, the changing of roles allows me to learn, but also to consider that always we are trying to get to the essential truth, which transcends gender. I certainly recognize the uniqueness of my voice, by the fact that I walk outside the garden, you could say, but hold knowledge that is necessary for this world. I do believe that the force that has held back women for all this time, deeply desires to understand, and wishes to make peace, so essentially I am saying leadership is being rewritten in all aspects of life, because it must be inclusive to all that life has to offer. I believe the greater journey that women have had to make over the centuries holds a vast amount of wisdom, that

is needed for now, and I place that focus at the forefront of all my work. Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once stated, "the artist’s role differs depending on which part of the world you’re in." Your current project explores the relationship of ancient, mythological traditions of the Gael, which transcends the shores of Ireland, into all parts of Europe: when introducing our readers to "Untitled Vesta Film", we would like to ask you what did address your artistic reasearch towards this direction. In particular, are you interested to unveil the elusive still ubiquitous bond between past and present? The “Untitled Vesta Film” is an extension of the first three films, in the sense that it is going deeper into the ancient traditions of women’s mysteries and knowledge. Vesta, who is known as a goddess and keeper of the sacred flame within Rome, is also directly related to a more ancient tradition of women holding a side of life, that remains invisible. In many ways, I am speaking on pre-christian knowledge, and how the wisdom that is unwritten can be known through the visual and through memory. Ireland’s sacred landscape is a living sphere, and within it, especially in its language exists the naming of places. The older generations spoke with nature, and there was no separation from the language of place, for it was part of the self. The white cloaked figure is a representation of sovereignty, that which is sacred to divine self, and divine land. She is the origin of life, while also being the arbitrator of law, and her guidance comes from nature’s ways. The central figure of this film is speaking of a deep invocation that needs to take place, to open the doorway

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Women Cinemakers into sacred realms, but also to bring about a return to the song of the land. Through a symbol, through an archetype, which is a living entity, we can safely navigate a dimensional sphere, that might serve a higher purpose. The figure is directly aligned with an ancient line of thinking and being, that was held in high purpose, to usher in a protective mantle around a people, when war and famine is near, but also when society is out of balance. She is multi-dimensional figure, holding knowledge from all different points, while staying static. Her stillness is a filter for the chaos, but also a teacher of how to hold wisdom without surrendering to dogma. Though she seems of other times, she remains of all times, for her presence exists beyond time. My hope is that the project will open the ancient door of the mysteries, so that the healing and guidance that is needed in these times, might be seen by the virtue of beauty in action and in presence. You art projects seem to draw from reality to speak about the inner sphere. To emphasize the need of a bound between creative process and direct experience, British artist Chris Ofili once stated that "creativity's to do with what's happening around you". How does personal experience fuel your creative process? In particular, do you think that a creative process could ever be disconnected from direct experience in order to investigate particular ideas that do not belong to the realm of perceptual reality? Direct Experience is the foundation for all of our memories, a sort of mirror with multiply reflections. It is also a doorway into realms that are as deep and as wide as we wish to travel. Reality is under construction all the time, but always there is a

trust that needs to take place within the self, so that the dimensional can be understood for the purpose to access what humanities greater needs may be. Progress has fallen on the grounds of the benign and lifeless, rather than that of the uplifting nature of our greater selves. We have not been able to directly experience, yet, the outer reaches of our dimensional selves, because of war, oppression and harm. We have never been more bombarded with distraction and chaos, and yet, the still point of existence still remains, its just been unnoticed and bluntly ignored. The creative process is direct experience into realms that hold a navigational tool for the soulâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s purpose. In very much the same way, that astrology allows for guidance for the individual, the artist walks the line of the outer reaches of language, and tries to resuscitate the symbolic into simple terms. The bridge between those two worlds, is heavily laden at this time with the top-soil of histories wrongs, so we find ourselves, trying to write the language of reconciliation and redemption back into the parthenon of everyday existence. I believe this can only be done by the highest form of simplicity, meaning it must inhabit all strands of life, while also allowing it to vibrate with recognition of the past, with a trust of the future. The present is vastly weary at this time, but it is capable of understanding, if we will treat it with dignity, and this takes great patience, but also a turning away from the dominating culture, which has no expansion within it. While marked out with such a seductive beauty on their surfaces, your works features ambivalent visual quality: Would you tell us how much important is for you that the spectatorship rethink the concepts you convey in your

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Women Cinemakers pieces, elaborating personal meanings? In particular, how open would you like your works to be understood? I would like to see, that the films and images I put forward are open vessels to be lived in, and also explored. I am continually fascinated with the concept of thresholds, for I believe it is in the inbetweenness of life, where we see profound truths. I spoke earlier of the idea of suspension, and I believe you have allow a lot of open space and stillness at this time, because of the vast amount of information being put forward in front of an individual. We have had to learn how to create very sophisticated filters with the body, and with the mind, and now we are discussing the spirit more, in an open conversation, and this has opened up a landscape that is brand new, but old at the same time. The landscape I speak on here, is that which holds timeless knowledge. For so long, fear has been gathered around the mysteries of life, but if that fear dropped, and we remembered the movement and virtues of beauty and love, we might begin to understand our higher purpose here. Art has the ability to elevate our humanity and when that is taken away we are without compass, and the ship of this world has no place to dock. We are of the time, that we need to open the bays within ourselves and see that each of us has a role to play in the fabric of existence. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in contemporary art scene. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from producing something 'uncommon', however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. How would you describe your personal experience as an artist? And what's your view on the future of women in this interdisciplinary field? As a woman artist in the 21st century, I find a great comfort, that doors are opening, that have never been before, and though its

Women Cinemakers going to take some time, and trust, I believe humanity is ready to allow what seemed lost, to show itself, out in the light. I know that the language I use, has been buried or banished for a long time, and yet its purpose has remained through many a family line and many a song, story, and poem. I see all the connections of the ancient traditions still alive, even if they seem dumbed down. The essence always remains, and with a comfort of trust and compassion, we walk a very strategic line at this time, because when something is held back and it is finally able to reveal itself, it is as a newborn;, very sensitive, and very vulnerable. We will need to navigate a huge amount of gentleness in how this language shows itself in day to day life and amongst the artistic institutions. Historyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lack of inclusion of women, now stands at a great prepice, and though there is great anger, and great sadness, the reconciliation and healing that can now happen from speaking on new terms. This may be the great moment humanity has so wished for. I believe its a very exciting time to be present to the greater needs and longings that sit within the heart and soul. I believe art now has the role of speaking on behalf of what needs to be healed within the psyche, and soul of a people. There is a desire to return to the essence of things, the essentials of life and existence and to allow the breathe of hope to speak its truth. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Ashley. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? I am currently working on a completing several projects at this time. The Untitled Vesta Film is something that is

taking a quiet, and profound gestation period, as its energy is directly related to the current feelings and movements with the the psyche of the Irish at this time, and what I see when I travel the land, and go to the sacred sites around the island. Many of the projects I work on include a time of wandering, and allowing imagery to be gathered, and then it is almost dreamt into place. There is a very intuitive part to the process of the work I do. I am currently editing my first book of poetry, which will include many of the poems that were written for the film projects, and also pieces that are related to the taking Irish myth and inhabiting them for the 21st century. The Lost Ones will also be available for purchase in the next several months, as a novel, and eventually in audio format. Another aspect to all the work I do, which I have not discussed to much here, but is essential, is the voice. I hold a lot of purpose to the use of my voice in the projects, as that ultimately is the essential thread through all the work, as it binds the message to resonance that remains. For the first time we are hearing the melody and timbre of many generations and lines of women in the voice of women alive today. The voice we hear now, are all the women before us who wished to speak and could not, and now we find ourselves with a duty and heritage to carry over for future generations. I believe its important to place no limits on the genre or form in which we allow this voice speak, for when we do, we may find that world suddenly falls into balance, as it has so wished to, for so long. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Women Cinemakers meets

Britt Whitmoyer Fishel Lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia

As an artist I have learned that there is no easy road, and so I typically choose the road less traveled. I grew up as a ballet dancer trapped in a modern dancerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s body, working harder than the rest to understand concepts and apply them to my movement. I am a visual artist, learning movement by absorbing first, and feeling second. Likewise, as a choreographer and filmmaker, I dream movement, story-boarding pictures in my head before conceptualizing them in space. I am inspired by human relationships, human interaction, and how we connect. How is it possible to live in such a large world and constantly be reveled by the smallness? Does every action create a reaction and how does that relate to the pathway of oneâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s life? These are questions I constantly seek to investigate in my movement, while bridging the communication between the artist and the audience. I strive to create and project engaging, captivating, intellectual work. I find working with film, projections and multimedia one more extension of dance that can reach an audience effectively. I also believe that collaboration is a great tool in the creative process. I believe two minds are better than one, and ultimately can produce a more effective rapport between the choreographer, dancers, and creative team, leading to a better result in the performance.

An interview by Francis Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com Hello Britt and welcome to WomenCinemakers: we would like to introduce you to our readers with a couple of questions regarding your background. You have a solid formal training and after having

graduated with a BFA in Dance from East Carolina University, you moved to New York City and pursued performing and choreographing professionally: how did these experiences inform your current practice? During my time at East Carolina University, I started dabbling with the combination of dance and

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projection. It wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exactly a new concept, but it was still before the time of a tapeless video camera, so the process was extremely long. I studied under Art Bridgman and Myrna Packer at Bates Dance Festival and they really catapulted my now 10-year journey of mixing video with dance. For the first 5 years of the journey, I was really only working with live performance mixed with video projections- on the dancersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; bodies, or projected behind them on a back wall or cyc. It was actually while I had my company, bnw:dance in Chicago, that I knew that I needed to start pushing my artistic intent further and establish some concrete ideologies, while continuing to evolve in my practice. Graduate School at the University of Michigan came at just the right moment, and gave me the time I needed to experiment, learn, and grow as both a filmmaker editor, in addition to my choreographic practice. I studied with Peter Sparling (School of Music, Theatre, and Dance), Terri Sarris (Screen Arts and Cultures), and Cynthia Pachikara (School of Art and Design). Each of them with a different aesthetic and view on film and media, working with the conglomerate allowed me to understand better the cross pollenated ideas, while expanding my knowledge of the subject. During my summer research, I was able to work with Simon Fildes of Goat Media Ltd. and there were some editing techniques from that experience that I still currently use, and some techniques that live within billet-doux. Something to note, is that I felt it so important to be

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Women Cinemakers skilled at all aspects, with the ability to operate as a one women show. As important as the choreography and the message itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sending, the operating of the camera(s), as well as the editing in post, all hold equal value, to me. For this special edition of WomenCinemakers we have selected billet-doux, an extremely interesting video that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your insightful inquiry into the notion of memory is the way your work provides the viewers with the elusive bond between the real and the imagined, combined with such an intense visual experience, enhanced by a sapient cinematography. While walking our readers through the genesis of billet-doux, would you tell what did draw you to focus your artistic research on human relationships and interactions? If I had to really dive into my psyche to figure out the root, it may be as simple as this: we all live with it, every day. We exist in this world as a result of some type of human connection, whether it be positive or negative. When we are born, we are inherently connected to our caretakers, our mothers, our fathers. Our choices imbedded with biosocial determinants, will at some point take over our path, but we all, as a human race, still maintain relationships and interactions. It connects us intimately, and also on a broader scope. Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a thin line between these ideas, and identity. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s my job as an artist, choreographer, and filmmaker, to either speak about my

own identity, or tell a story, but not to try and dissect someone else’s identity. The story of billet-doux was essentially written for me. Love letters have a diary-like feel to them. They’re incredibly personal, and for the most part are only meant to be received and read by one other person. I put a call out for voluntary submissions to people who have written love letters, have them in their possession, or would be willing to write a letter for the project. It’s a lot to ask of someone, whether I knew them, or even more so as a stranger, to trust me enough with something potentially this private. I was unsure what the response would be, but to my surprise, I had several people send me letters. I had letters written by lovers who had been separated by deployment and war, I had a letter written by a woman to herself, on her first day of college, as encouragement and motivation. I also had letters written by lovers during their courtship, followed by a letter written by the woman after the man had passed away. What you learn, is that the term “love letter” doesn’t exclusively dictate the emotion in the letter. Some of these letters were filled with pain, anger, anxiety, hope and hopelessness. I took four of these letters and turned them into sections of the work, two duets, a solo, and a trio. Choreographically, I tried to tell the story, but more importantly the spirit and emotion behind the letter, through the movement. The movement was made for the stage first, and then we created the film thereafter.

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers We have been impressed with the way you have combined elements from environment with ambience capable of speaking about imagination and memory. As you have remarked in your artist's statement, you dream movement, story-boarding pictures in your head before conceptualizing them in space: how do you consider the relationship between perceptual reality and the realm of imagination? Moreover, how much important is for you to trigger the viewer's perceptual parameters in order to address them to elaborate personal associations? It’s two fold. You don’t want the audience or viewer to completely miss the story or commentary you are putting out into the world, but you definitely want to leave it open for new connotations and conversations. The goal is not to spoon feed them the information, but maybe to guide them to a point of personal inception? What’s most exciting to me is when the work really speaks to a viewer. Watching the viewer or audience member transcend, almost putting themselves into the film or piece, is fascinating. I try to make my work relatable, but still with room for exploration. When someone totally misses the mark, it’s really okay too. I don’t have blind notions of our differences in this world. That’s what makes us so great as humans. Each of us are all composed of something so similar and yet, something so different. My work is not everyone’s cup of tea, nobody’s work is, and that is totally okay. If I have reached and inspired conversation in one or a few, I think I am doing my job as an artist.

billet-doux was created from the curated love letters of people all over the world, in a time span between 1920 and 2016: how does your everyday life's experience influence your work as an artist? How does direct experience fuel your creative process? What is interesting, is that I would say my work is incredibly identity driven, even though much of it tends to lean towards social commentary. We are living in such a time, where women are being constantly challenged. Our choices, persona, and artistry, are under a microscope at all times. Correction: Under a microscope, with a critical eye, and an already set forth expectation. And unfortunately, I feel with time, I have felt this more, not less. My work has always been tailored to an experience, or even a conversation, as influence. I have made work about my relationship with my sister, about the seven deadly sins, as it relates to our current social and political climate, about the expectations of women in the 1920s and 1950s, using actual educational hygiene videos from that period. billet-doux was filled with the human state of emotion, in relation to being connected with someone or themselves. My current work examines three different sets of research done by an epidemiologist, phycologist, sociologist, on the socioeconomic and biosocial determinants of behavior, health, and longevity, as it relates to human dependency. There has always been something from the piece before, that influences the next work. A big part of my artistic ideology is that once I am finished with a piece or film, once itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s done touring or screening and it has been put to bed, I am always very

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers hesitant to re-open it. Because I have taken something from the work, a sense of growth, or possibly even a nonsequitur idea, I always feel “ready for the next thing”, and don’t like to look back; almost as if the piece prior was a tool, to launch me forward. We daresay that in billet-doux sound is equally important as images and we have highly appreciated the synergy between the close ups of some parts of the footage and combination between music and the sound of the ambience. How did you structure the relationship between sound and gestures billet-doux? It’s always so compelling to hear when music has influenced the work in such a profound way, because in all honesty, it is one of the last things I think about. The goal is to allow the music to mesh with the movement seamlessly; to enhance the picture, not to disrupt. The choreography can't reiterate the sound, but needs to fit like a puzzle. The sounds from the environment, however, are intentional from the start. I don’t use them in every work I do, but when the piece calls for it, they can be essential. A large part of my thesis at Michigan was investigating the perspectives one has while watching performance and how it affects the senses of the eyes and ears. Adding in the environmental elements leaves the viewer with more of a kinesthetic and tactile sensory, that can sometimes be missing when moving from live performance to screen. We dictate what the viewer sees though filming and also within the edit, eliminating choice. This seems like

common sense for filmmakers not working with dance, but in a live performance, viewers can experience full bodies on stage and watch a movement in its entirety. Therefore, it becomes even more intentional when you see clips that isolate the intimacy of the dancersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; hands, arms, mouth, etcetera. The tiny details are heightened and alters the spatial flow of the work. billet-doux features elegantly structured composition: what were your aesthetic decisions when shooting? In particular, what was your choice about camera and lens? There are definitely moments that I am â&#x20AC;&#x153;duetingâ&#x20AC;? with the camera. That meaning, I am moving the camera (and myself) along with the dancers. This can create a more erratic feel, which is another way of communicating the emotional context of the love letters. I juxtaposed that feeling with some lovely, quiet moments of the dancers, using a slow pan. Shooting those moments can read more private. I also like to paint the picture of location in every film, so there are typically shots that showcase the natural movement of the environment, unscripted. For this, it was wind blowing on a berry bush, the light hitting tree branches, and the texture of the stonework. What typically happens is this: I show up with my cameras and all of my equipment, including tripods, stabilizers, and sliders. I set up my first shot, and then when the dancers take off, I scrap all the equipment and freehand shoot them. I am not saying I never use my equipment, as I definitely do during some part of filming.

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Women Cinemakers

A still from

Photo by Jeff Frandsen

Women Cinemakers What I am saying, is that since I am a mover myself and since I choreographed and set most of what I am shooting, it can feel most natural to travel the camera myself. We have highly appreciated your stunning landscape cinematography: how did you select the locations? In particular, do you think that the theme of landscape could be a metaphor of human condition? In short, yes, I do believe it could be a metaphor of human condition. In long, I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a lot more than that. A chosen landscape in a dance film can add tone to the work, it can be used to add color, or further commentary. There are a lot of location trends in contemporary dance films, using deconstructed landscape spaces like torn down warehouses, or condemned buildings. I think you see the rise in that because of the juxtaposition between something commonly seen as unsightly being inhabited with alluring movement from dancers. Possibly even a commentary on beauty in the darkness of this world. For billet-doux, I part forest landscape, part gravel textures. Specifically, I was interested in a couple different things: the natural sound elements that went with those locations, i.e.: birds chirping, the sound of feet moving in the gravel, wind blowing the trees, and cracking branches. Another interest was the representation of how are all connected and connected to the earth. The greens, browns, and greys in the landscape

added the color against the moving bodies and paper airplanes/letters that I was looking for. Just as the earth has seasons, and an ebb and flow quality, so do we as humans, and it was an important connection to make for that particular film. To emphasize the need of a bound between creative process and direct experience, British artist Chris Ofili once stated that "creativity is to do with improvisation Â what's happening around you". How would you consider the relationship between the necessity of scheduling the details of a performance and the need of spontaneity? How much importance does play improvisation in your creative process? Improvisation plays a critical role in every film I create. We come on location with set movement phrases prepared, but also with the knowledge that the dancers will interact with the environment and location, and essentially tailor their individual movements to the space. For billet-doux, we had so much pre-created material, as the live performance was an eleven-minute stage work, so the film actually has the least amount of improvisation out of my full body of work. For reference, my current research and project had the same pathway: substantial choreography from the stage version, made into a short dance film, but the clips I loved most were the dancersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; individual personalities and identities in their improvisations, so the film is probably 50/50 set choreography and improvisation. No matter what,

Women Cinemakers however, we improv on location for every project. Collaboration is a core principle in my artistry and my dancersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; ideas and insight are valued through the entire process. Many artists express the ideas that they explore through representations of the body and by using their own bodies in their creative processes. German visual artist Gerhard Richter once underlined that "it is always only a matter of seeing: the physical act is unavoidable": how do you consider the relation between the abstract nature of the ideas you explore and the physical act of creating your artworks? Once an idea is formed, I do several things before the act of creating. I spend a great deal of time reading and doing research on the topic, to see what is out there to support my ideas or theories and what perspectives I havenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thought about previously. I aim to find multiple frames of reference, to widen my process. From there, I get into the studio with my dancers immediately. Before any choreography is set, I come with one phrase- sometimes even a series of gestures- and play with deconstruction, isolation, and full movement ideas. We spend anywhere from weeks to months in the studio making phrase work, and creating movement based on research ideas, discussing tone. Simultaneously I am searching for film locations. Georgia and especially in the Atlanta area, where I currently live, offers many landscape options. I have the ability to quickly get from cityscape to mountains, fields, and forests. Once a location is set and the movement feels complete, there isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t much time before filming. I like to get the dancers into the environment and as comfortable as possible, so they can explore the movement in space, but also create

Women Cinemakers improvisations based on the environment and keeping in spirit with the research. Depending on the project, we film for an entire day, or 2-3 film days and I take back with me hours upon hours of footage to edit and compress into a short dance film. The editing for me acts as a second round of choreographic choices. The most difficult part is seeing the arch of the story different in the editor then what was originally imagined. You have to follow the path of where the footage is taking you and how it fits best, which means potentially leaving substantial material on the cutting room floor. It's important to mention that you are also a founding member of Atlanta Dance Collective, a contemporary dance company that strives to provide growing opportunities for collaboration in choreography and involvement for artists: it's no doubt that interdisciplinary collaborations are today ever growing forces in Contemporary Art and that the most exciting things happen when creative minds from different fields of practice meet and collaborate on a project. What did address you to involve people from different disciplines? Can you explain how your work demonstrates communication between artists from different disciplines? Atlanta Dance Collective (ADC), as a whole, works in numerous ways to collaborate within our discipline and outside. Throughout our season, we provide opportunities for dance artists to show work and be presented. We select multiple guest artists to be produced during our spring performance season, at no cost to them. In addition, they

Women Cinemakers

also receive a performance stipend. We are constantly trying to create ways to give a voice to artists who can’t self-produce or are just starting out and are in search of a performance outlet. Also we have started an artist in residency program, which gives choreographers another paid opportunity to set work on the dancers of ADC. ADC also produces an annual film festival, Opine Dance Film Festival. The film festival gives opportunity to filmmakers both nationally and internationally who are producing dance specific films, in the hope to build the Screendance community further. Through all of our opportunities, we have been able to collaborate with composers, musicians, graphic designers, photographers, and installation artists. The goal is community through collaboration and a greater sense of each voice through our art and practice. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Britt. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? This season, my work has been based on the feminist perspective of socioeconomic and biosocial determinants of behavior, health, and longevity, as it relates to human dependency. The film, entitled Epoch, was originally created as 5 separate, but related films being projected simultaneously for the University of Michigan’s Third Century Screens Expo and Bicentennial Celebration. It then transformed and was projected onto three panels, for my stage version of the work,

and then was ultimately turned into one film for festival screenings. Unlike billet-doux, this film was shot completely inside in a studio, with artificial lighting, and then transformed again through post production. I played heavily with the idea of starkness through minimal coloring, double exposure, and images melting off the screen. As I said before, I always take something from the previous project as inspiration, and by the end of billet-doux, I was perplexed by the idea of being so connected and dependent, that it could alter one’s health either positively or negatively. And so Epoch was born. A headless, white, mannequin plays what I call “patient 0”, in the passing of traits and behaviors during the piece. I’ve been working on Epoch for almost a year now, and can already tell where my next project will begin. A gentleman watched and commented on my work, misunderstanding it, while citing their distraction by the mannequin’s body and the ramifications it could cause the piece. That comment became super interesting to me and ignited a conversation about how women’s bodies are perceived and once again, how social expectations and acceptance plays a role. I will leave it there and just say, stay tuned! An interview by Francis Quettier and Dora Tennant womencinemakers@berlin.com

Photo by Lizzie Baker

Women Cinemakers meets

Marit-Shirin Fogelgren Lives and works in Stockholm and Brussels

With blood from seafarers and nomads, I am seeking my identity through movement Hoping to find home, my own cultural heritage defines my journey around the globe I discover the vast variety of perceptions of the world through a camera lens an object that is serving me with all the spectrums of my surroundings It is with this work that I can encounter other moving bodies zooming in on the details of a hand, seeing the paths and history of where she has been before and where she is. Enhancing what I already have experienced through the lens, and that is forever imprinted in my moving body My language is through the body and the visual, it is where I want to communicate with you. It is not only my story that I want to project on the screen, it is ours. On the other side of the world, in the land of the eternal sunrise, I found the concrete evidence in what makes us human beings, the body in constant movement What unites desire for peace of mind is the fact that we are carrying around ourselves and it is strongly rooted in the nature around us I have to travel not to seek, but to grasp every opportunity I have to encounter unknown territories. My work is dependent on my environment, and I seek to adapt my work to every situation or collaboration that comes before me. Without adaptation I fall out of presence. Without a context I am rootless Through dance I find who I am and where I belong, the body demonstrates why we often seek what we already have. Through film I zoom in but stay distant, in where I can see every detail of the story at hand. All of this I see as a unity - one cannot exist without the other, therefore my work presents itself as an intermingling between movement and reflection.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Ambitiously constructed and elegantly photographed, is a captivating film by Brussels based performer, freelancer and professional dancer Marit-Shirin

Fogelgren: inquiring into the ubiquitous the themes of abortion and euthanasia, she initiates her audience into highteneed experience capable of encouraging a crosspollination of the spectatorship. Featuring elegant cinematography and sapient composition, Fogelgren's work awakens the discussion about the issues between different age groups, human perceptions and life

philosophies. We are particularly pleased to introduce our readers to her captivating and multifaceted artistic production. Hello Marit-Shirin and welcome to : we would like to introduce you to our readers with a couple of questions regarding your background. You started your journey in dance at a very early age, and you swiftly pursued a dance career in the contemporary dance field after having studies in Iceland Academy of the Arts. You later nurtured your education with a a Bachelor in Dance Performance, that you have received from , and you started your career as a performer, freelancer and professional dancer. How did your experiences of training influence your evolution as a multidisciplinary artist? In particular, does your cultural substratum and your passion for inform you as a creative? believe that my generation was encouraged as children very often to ‘follow our passion’ when it came to choosing careers and life paths. When we get older, we are persuaded to actually follow the opposite - be rational and realistic about what we choose and at the same time be happy about what we create. Well, passion was and to some extent is a strong beacon when it comes to my work, but it was not until last year when I travelled to Japan for a 3 month artistic residency where I could connect me as a creative to, well…me. I

I was in an Aikido dojo in Kyoto conducting research for my dance solo when I was asked to attend a two hour Zazen meditation session before training. This is in order to create spatial awareness as well as being ready to face your ‘opponent’ and teacher in the training. Although keep in mind that there is nothing that you need to achieve in this meditation just . In this way I realised that I don’t have to try to be present in my creative work, nor see passion as the driving force in what I create. Rather observing the whole spectrum of how cultural

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers construct, training of the body and passion for film is the catalyst for stating my own creative language. It opened up the possibility for me to pick and choose different combinations of language, and since I am a nomad - I discovered so many interesting disciplines and people along the way that transformed how I look at my work. we have selected For this special edition of , an extremely interesting film that our readers can view directly at https://vimeo.com/210340537. What has at once captured our attention of your insightful inquiry into is the way it captures the viewers' attention with sensitivity and grit, enhanced by sapient cinematography. While walking our readers through the genesis of , would you tell us what did direct you to explore the themes of abortion and euthanasia? As a director and producer of this film, I collaborated together with the performance group Humanity-ish with Fuji Hoffmann and Hanna Kahrola. The thematics are subject to political as well as moral dilemmas, and I found it challenging to convey these images without jeopardising my ‘truths as a woman’, what that means - I still don’t know. Yet, mentioning cultural and social construct previously, I wanted to see how much ‘distance’ we can create between the storyteller and the themes at hand. The piece is focusing on bringing facts about abortion and euthanasia from different perspectives, and in that way make the observer create questions within themselves rather than us inflicting upon the theme with our own statements. To add another layer to this, in this work we asked the question, I mean, why not - what else can we do with this film than to mess around with it a little bit? I needed to clear my mind from previous conceptions and judgments, in order to open up for something new - which would turn out to be a very interesting process. Elegantly structured, , features a refined and effective mise-en-scène: what were your

when shooting? In particular, what was your choice about camera and lens? I knew that the scenes would be set in a familiar environment, and as the character is preparing for a ‘night out’ most of it is shot in an apartment in Stockholm. I wanted to include quite ‘normal’ home situations with abnormal elements popping up, such as the little red creature with a “pro-choice” T-shirt floating by in the bath tub or lying in a drawer in the bedroom. The use of contrasting colours such as pink and purple, is a part of the performance piece and is not what you would normally expect as a backdrop to the scripted

dialogues in the film. The ambiguity of these combinations is what interested me in these decisions. Creating quite intense scenes, I chose to soften it by using a vintage lens I found in a flee-market; a Chinon 55mm/1:1.7. Creating beautiful lensflares and bokeh which I love to work with in my films. I also used my modest and trustworthy Canon 700D with a 60fps throughout the whole film to create a dreamy image. Moving from an intimate atmosphere that reflects , inquiries into highly topical issues. Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once stated, "

". Not to mention that almost everything, could be considered political, do you think that could be considered in a certain sense? What could be in your opinion the role of artists in our everchanging, unstable in order contemporary societies? If I could live the rest of my life meditating on a mountain in rural Japan and detach myself from what is going on politically in the world I might, but truth to be told; IN BETWEEN as a piece wants to open up a dialogue to politicians as well - of course. Many times politicians dictate

on what is morally correct, having very little knowledge of their own. Why is it that abortion and euthanasia is not very often spoken about in the same context? What are trying to say is that it is all about integrity and the right to our bodies, why is it not considered the same? For instance, when talking about womens production rights, it all of a sudden becomes a question about femininity and gender roles instead of human rights. That is when it becomes political for me. With that said, the film is the result of creativity and conceptual thinking, the questions derived from that - can

become political depending on the social constructs where it is shown. Our roles are many: artists, mothers, fathers, daughters, workers, contributors etc. Can we really keep track of when we are who? Isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it when we try to consider them all that we eventually bang our heads against the wall and take a sick-leave? I think it is also good to take a break from those expectations. What we as artists and poets have is the ability to say what cannot be said. We can create a language which is universal and adaptable to any part of the world we choose to share it with. That is at least what I am hoping to do. sound is equally important as We daresay that in between images and we have highly appreciated the of some parts of the footage and of the ambience, that exhalts the sculptural quality of your statics. How did you structured the relationship between sound and images in your film? In particular, did you aim to suggest such in the viewer, by combining images riches with familiar connotations with such persistent rhythmic sound commentary? I wanted the stillness of the first scene to be combined with a soundscape coloured by abandonment, although having her sitting in the bathtub with party-clothes on as a contrast. This is where I wanted to combine the uncanny with the abnormal, comical elements. This makes the very dance-friendly music that follows a surprise element. I also loved that we could not stop bouncing up and down with joy to this amazing music - even though the spoken text is so fateful. I aimed to create a tension through the whole film combining sound with images, especially when she picks up this purple coat-hanger walking with it, swaying it like a purse - itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s incredibly uncomfortable. You are questioning what she will do with it. The suggestion lies within creating questions by the viewer,

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers

starting from a state of confusion. Although the pop-song is enhancing a sense of freedom which was important for me in order to â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;keep it lightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; so to speak. Always when I film I think about post-production at the same time, creating the space for spontaneous decisions in directing. I literarily heard sound and music while we were shooting, as I with my dance background move a lot with my camera while filming. I believe all of these combination between music, images and moving body makes me very dedicated to be in the moment while filming. It's no doubt that the most exciting things happen when creative minds from different fields of practice meet and collaborate on a project, as your effective collaboration with dancer Hanna Kahrola and choreographer Fuji Hoffmann: of can you tell us something about ? In particular, what is your preparation ? Fuji and me has worked together in Stockholm for many years, and so creating a film together was decided quite naturally. The piece is built upon their live performance in front of audience, but we thought that by making it into moving images we could capture details which you cannot do in the same way on a stage. We exchanged texts and research that became the foundation of scripting and storyboarding. It was quite hard work, but an incredible learning experience for me as I acted as a director, cinematographer and post-producer of the film. Fuji and Hanna was rehearsing in the studio reconstructing and building choreography for the scenes, as I was spending time organising the shots and storyboard. After scripting and location hunting, we simply went out under the city lights and experimented with the movements according to what feeling we got on the spot.

We would like to introduce our readers to another interesting work, entitled , an interesting work that shows an and unique sensibility, that seem to walk exquisite the viewers to a point of convergence between reality and dreamlike dimension: how much important is for you in order to address them to elaborate ? First of all, filming VOLUTES was a mesmerising! While filming I got goosebumps from what I saw in my viewfinder. It was just breathtaking to me. The beautiful Saskia Leudo de Ronde with her long dark hair, the colours and the light…I was trying to compose the lens-flares into patterns while I was filming which was incredibly interesting. The choreography is made by Saskia and Louis-Clément da Costa and the whole feeling of VOLUTES is a dreamlike state where the movements are hypnotising and the music is almost trance-inducing. I guess am intrigued by the capabilities of playing with perception through filmmaking, as I can also transform a body into an entity. It’s a bit like playing around with the spectators’ own desire - what she wants to see and how I am inducing that reverie in what I create. To emphasize the need of a bound between creative process and direct experience, British artist Chris Ofili once stated that " ". How would you consider the relationship between the details of a performance and the need of spontaneity? How much importance does play in your process? Improvisation is the basis of my creative work. At the beginning of my dance career I felt guilty many times because I did not appreciate the art of rehearsing as much as ‘taking things as they go’ and I was often in need of an emotional silence while moving. Not thinking, just doing. The founder of Aikido, Morihei Ueshiba said “

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Women Cinemakers

.â&#x20AC;? I believe it was when I first started to study everything around me that is not conventionally that I understood how everything is happening spontaneously - even the breathing inside our bodies is happening wether we try to control it or not. Although I believe that spontaneity needs to come from structure, how else would you know that you are being spontaneous? It is a constant balancing to me. And so, through improvisation comes play as we used to play when we were children. I might have been a complicated child, but I wish I could bring out her spontaneity and playfulness from time to time. If I improvise from the moment I push the Rec button on my camera, possibilities are that the image will turn out more colourful and richer than I expected. Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to in ask you to express your view on experimental artistis productions. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from getting behind the camera, however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. What's your view on the future of women in experiemental cinema? Do you think it is harder for women directors to have their projects green lit today? For certain it is very difficult for all of us in the artistic production field over-all, there is no denial in that. The question in what pace will it change, and in what direction it might turn once we face resistance. I have a tendency to see only the dark spot on an empty canvas instead of seeing the possibilities around it, but I know I never give up facing hardships. , the stubborn female Samurai I take inspiration from leader in the Edo period who never stopped chopping heads no matter what the patriarchal system told her. So what we see , we just need to keep at it, producing what we want for as long as we want. In this sense I am hopeful, really. And I want to shed light on it through my creative choices as well, as I am quite careful of

Women Cinemakers what I choose to produce and what projects I take on. I do define myself as a woman in film, and it makes me feel empowered in my work. Also being invited to this wonderful platform and take part of it feels truly amazing - Thank you for that. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, MaritShirin. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? My next goal is to find collaborations with filmmakers to produce a bigger project. Before I have acted behind the camera, writing, editing and directing, this time I would love to be the Director. My next project is a conceptual short-film series in three parts. The research behind it is about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, and it is viewed from the perspective of three different women. I have taken some of my own experiences into this, as carrying blood from SĂĄmi, the Nordic ancestral nomads. With their belief in uncanny entities and connection to nature, the story will evolve around the theme of looking for the long-lost love in a fantasy setting.The second part is derived from testimonies of Kurdish warrior women (Kurdish blood also runs through my veins) transformed into a clinical interview about the modern womenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s past abusive relationship with a man. The third one is about recovering memories, with the image of a young girl in a gallery with clothcovered pictures on the wall. This one has a funny story actually, I was looking for relaxing background noises for sleeping on YouTube when I accidentally played a Hypnosis track. I did not turn into a chicken, but I had a hard time sleeping for the next couple of nights. I will keep doing my dance projects in Japan, travel the world and still producing film together with other people. Without a context I am rootless, but as long as I have inspiration I will still belong. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com

Women Cinemakers meets

Allison Walsh Lives and works in Peoria, Illinois, USA

Allison Walsh is an artist and documentary filmmaker from Chicago, Illinois. She graduated with a BFA from Bradley University where she studied Painting, Spanish, and Philosophy. Parallel Lines is Walsh’s first film. She started on the project because she was driven to find compassion and understanding in the midst of political hostility in the United States. Walsh credits the caring and warm community of El Paso and Juarez for the success of the film. Walsh's work with Yaku Peoria—an international arts organization-—inspired her to make art that shares empathy and brings communities together. Walsh has had multiple solo exhibitions and film screening with her paintings, documentaries, and video installations, and she is a former resident of Prairie Center of the Arts. Walsh lives in Peoria, Illinois where she is an independent documentarian, videographer, and painter.

An interview by Francis L. Quettier

Delivering a nuanced take on an issue of pressing

and Dora S. Tennant

importance, she demonstrates the ability to capture

womencinemaker@berlin.com

the subtle depths of emotions. With its characteristic

Captivating and refined in its balanced and effective

vérité style, this captivating film offers an emotionally

storytelling, Parallel Lines is a stimulating film by Peoria

charged visual experience, inviting the viewers to

based artist and documentary filmmaker Allison Walsh.

unveil the ubiquitous beauty hidden into the details

of our everyday life experience: Visually rich and emotionally captivating, Parallel Lines is a remarkable directorial debut. Hello Allison and welcome to WomenCinemakers: to start this interview we would like to invite our readers to visit http://www.allisonwalshartist.com in order to get a wide idea about your artistic production. In the meanwhile, we would ask you a couple of question about your background. How did your BFA studies of Painting, Spanish, and Philosophy inform your evolution as an artist? Could you tell us your biggest influence and how did they affect your work? My BFA studies at Bradley University had a huge influence on who I am as a thinker and artist. Having a background in painting - being attuned to color and expressive movement of brushstrokes - informs my cinematic vision. It really comes out in the movement of the camera and attention to tactile details. Philosophy gave me something to say in my artwork and filled me with a passion to communicate deeper truths. And, learning Spanish taught me to engage with the world. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been able to meet and interview people who only speak Spanish, so I get to meet them in their language and slowly begin to understand their world view. At university, people often doubted my strange combination of studies and their lack of utility, but it seems obvious to me to study something I am passionate about. In my opinion, these

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers three disciplines perfectly inform a career in documentary film and art. For this special edition of WomenCinemakers we have selected Parallel Lines, a captivating documentary film that our readers have already started to get to know in the introductory pages of this article. What has at once captured our attention of your insightful inquiry into complex relationship between those who police the border and those who cross itis the way your sapient narrative provides the viewers with with such an intense visual experience, enhanced by elegant composition. While walking our readers through the genesis of Parallel Lines, would you tell how did you develope the storytelling of your film? In particular, do you like spontaneity or do you prefer to meticolously schedule every details of your shooting process? Parallel Lines was spontaneous throughout. After a long year of hateful and prejudice political discourse in the United States in 2016, I launched a Kickstarter to start a documentary about the U.S.-Mexico border. I wanted to stand up for peace and for my friends and neighbors because I felt that the victims of prejudice shouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t always have to defend themselves - it was my responsibility too. I reflected and concluded that the best way I could make a difference was to make art, and I loved documentaries but had never attempted to make one myself. I felt that a documentary could connect with a larger and more diverse audience and give a platform to other opinions than

my own. I wanted to let the documentary teach me and my Midwestern community something we did not understand. I did not meticulously plan the film because I wanted to adapt to the space, the community, and the story. If I planned too much, I would be stuck with my worldview. I had to be willing to let my worldview shatter. So, I went to El Paso, Texas, stayed with my second cousins (who connected me with many people), and conducted interviews with residents of El Paso and Juarez for three weeks. It was so spontaneous - I just absorbed everything, asked all the questions I could think of, and remained humble and quiet through the process. My job was to listen. I also explored the landscape - the shared earth between the two cities. My experience was so eye-opening it took a year of postproduction to process the story. It was a totally beautiful learning experience and I made close friends in El Paso and Juarez. I went back for a second trip a few months later to film DĂa de los Muertos and Halloween at the border and it was really fun! I made that trip into a second small film, with the help of my wonderful friends Alexis Carballido and Julio-CesĂĄr Chavez. Elegantly shot, Parallel Lines features stunning cinematography and from a visual point, we have been fascinated with your clear and effective approach to narrative: what were your aesthetic decisions when

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Women Cinemakers

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Women Cinemakers shooting? In particular, what was your choice about camera and lens? I shoot with a Panasonic GH4 because of the strong visual quality and adaptability in low-light. At first I only had one camera and one lens, so I used my iPhone as a second, wide angle camera. I’m proud of the way technology has improved and become more accessible, because it truly makes art better. People often tell me they were mesmerized by the last shot in my film, and I shot that on an iPhone. Cameras are so good now, the equipment you own can be balanced by your cinematic vision. If a shot is strong, it doesn’t have to be taken with the most expensive camera, it just has to show us something we didn’t see before. We have deeply appreciated your successful attempt to create such a stunning work of emotional and political clarity capable of sharing empathy, bringing communities together in our everchanging society. Mexican artist Gabriel Orozco once stated, "the artist’s role differs depending on which part of the world you’re in. It depends on the system you’re living under". As an artist particularly concerned in finding compassion and understanding in the midst of political hostility in the United States, how does external reality and culture affect your artistic research? Moreover, how much artists can contribute to shape the Zeitgeist? Artists and filmmakers have a great power to communicate culture and identity. They affect our perception of the past,

share truths of the present, and have the ability to change people and policies in the future. I gravitate towards documentary film because there is so much art out there, and yet many voices are still unheard. I think itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s important to be engaged with a community, to understand the needs of that community, and see what you can do as an artist to help. That seems like a fulfilling way to spend a life. Parallel Lines is an emotionally penetrating journey to shared daily existence and we have particularly appreciated the way you created entire scenarious out of psychologically charged moments: do you think that your being a woman provides your artistic research with some special value? I do think being a woman provides a special value to my art. In the past few years, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve really grown to embrace the ways that I am powerfully feminine. I care about empathy, staying grounded, listening, and expressing a felt connection with the people on screen. I think the scenes I create from psychologically charged moments are the most impactful, they are the reason why people love the film. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m very proud of my crew for Parallel Lines, which was mostly female - including the main protagonist, lead actress, two producers, second camera, and colorist. The stunning tapestry of sound and images that marks out Parallel Lines is movie poetry: how did you develope the balance between sound and the flow of images?

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Women Cinemakers

To create poetry in film takes a rhythm with editing. I edit in a very sensuous way - my senses are heightened. Sometimes I even move my hands or body with the soundtrack when Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m reviewing a cut or camera movement. I like to think good editors are also probably good dancers - but maybe thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s being generous. I do think strong editors have a deep connection with rhythm, vibrations, and movement, and they are willing to give themselves over to the film and be entranced. I make many drafts of my film so I can step away and come back to the film after returning to a normal rhythm of life - I like to empathize with my viewers when they approach the film for the first time. The way I edit comes from my background as a painter. When I paint, I become one with the brushstroke, the paint, and the canvas - I tune in. I move my body around the painting when I make large brushstrokes. So, with film I like that I get to make the pictures move too. Reflecting the need to break the chain of hate that often affects our unstable contemporary scenario, we daresay that your film could be considered an effective allegory of human experience: how does everyday life's experience fuel your creative process to address your choices regarding the themes you explore? One of my strengths as an artist is what I pay attention to. In Parallel Lines, I told everyday stories because I wanted to expand on the stories of real people living in El Paso and

Juarez. I wanted to counter the hostile political discourse and frightening news stories about the border and pay attention to everyday life at the border instead. I was so fortunate to meet incredible people who opened their homes to me and shared their stories and life experiences. I owe everything to the El Paso and Juarez community for Parallel Lines. Parallel Lines captures hidden emotional reactions with a delicate, thoughtful detachment: what are you hoping your film will trigger in the spectatorship? When I made my first trip to the border, I didn’t know I was going to find such heartbreakingly beautiful interviews. But, I knew I wanted to tell a story with a nuanced approach. As an artist, my paintings are colorful, emotionally evocative, and abstract. My artistic sensibility informs what I gravitate towards, but I got very lucky to find such wonderful people who were willing to be in my documentary. Olga’s interview in particular was a great surprise because we finished the interview and started chatting afterwards when she began to tell me this story that was so powerful we both ended up in tears. I quickly said, “Olga, will you please tell me the story again on camera?” And, that story became the anchor of my film. That story has made me cry many times while editing the film, it’s really beautiful. The production of the film in El Paso and Juarez was intentional, but so spontaneous, and that’s why I think viewers relate to it. They are experiencing the beauty and

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Women Cinemakers

A still from

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Women Cinemakers complexity of the border community along with me, when I was there for the first time. Over the years you have had multiple solo exhibitions as well as film screening with your paintings, documentaries, and video installations: how would you consider the nature of the relationship with your audience? Moreover, how much importance has for you the feedback that you receive in the festival circuit? And how do you feel previewing a film before an audience? My relationship with the audience is crucial in determining the success of a film, and that can be really nerve wracking since you can’t plan how the audience will respond. But, I don’t want to make art that I love that doesn’t affect anyone else. That’s not really how I’m wired. At my video exhibition of Parallel Lines, I received great feedback from the audience. I had prepared to respond to some criticism, since I received some while making the film, but I was pleasantly surprised that the final film made sense to people and I did not have to defend it. I had great conversations with people from a range of political backgrounds at the video exhibition. One of the most touching responses was when a girl came up to me who has one parent who is Muslim and one who is Christian, and she said she felt so connected with the way I expressed the in-between culture. She also appreciated the

intent to soften hostility and meet real people. That was my favorite response of all. We had a wonderful conversation. Before I present my work to film festivals, I often show the film to my sister, Melanie, who is sometimes a producer and absolutely brilliant, she shares a piece of my soul. And, I also share the film with my boyfriend, Brent, who is extremely thoughtful and informed, and has a slightly different sensibility than me. They are my go-to spectators to test out my films because I often make bold choices that are sometimes spectacular and work flawlessly, and other times they are embarrassingly bad and I would be laughed out of a theater. So, it is a blessing to have the two of them to tell me “this worked,” or “this didn’t work,” “here’s what I would do differently,” and most importantly, “thank you for sharing this and don’t be afraid to make bold work like this. Even if it doesn’t work sometimes.” Before leaving this conversation we want to catch this occasion to ask you to express your view on the future of women in cinema. For more than half a century women have been discouraged from getting behind the camera, however in the last decades there are signs that something is changing. What's your view on the future of women in cinema? Women filmmakers, both in front and behind the camera, are incredibly important to our social and cultural evolution. Filmmaking is still a very male-dominated field, and I grew up as a tomboy so being the only woman on set doesn’t intimidate

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Women Cinemakers me. I’ve never been afraid that I don’t belong because I’m a woman, but recently I’ve discovered a distinct pride in being a woman filmmaker. If women are discouraged or not allowed to be filmmakers, then as a society we are missing out on half of all great artists. Why would we ever choose that? Women have unique sensibilities that deserve to be on screen. I feel very fortunate to be living in 2018 and I am hopeful for the future of cinema. Technology has made filmmaking more accessible - which only improves our odds of hearing new stories, having more diversity in artists, and understanding our communities in ways we haven’t before. Thanks a lot for your time and for sharing your thoughts, Allison. Finally, would you like to tell us readers something about your future projects? How do you see your work evolving? Now that I’m finished with Parallel Lines, I’m going to spend some time at home in Peoria, Illinois and tell stories from around here. I think smaller cities and urban areas are often overlooked, but these places have just as good stories to tell as any big city. I also want to share these stories because my community deserves it. Personally, I’m excited about my work’s evolution because I continue to learn more everyday and become closer to the art of filmmaking, I am beginning to think and feel in the language of film. I look forward to discovering what happens next. An interview by Francis L. Quettier and Dora S. Tennant womencinemaker@berlin.com