Best Picture – 9 male oriented films, 1 female oriented film

Best Animated Feature – 5/5 male

Best Documentary Feature – 5/5 male

Best Foreign Language Film – 4/5 male

Best Director – 5/5/ male

Best Cinematography – 5/5 male

Best Editor – 3/5 male

Best Original Screenplay – 4/5 male

Best Adapted Screenplay – 4.5/5 male (one female co-writer on a spy movie)

The statistics aren’t good.  Which is why I was particularly delighted when one of the young filmmakers I met in Kansas, Christina Hodel, key member of the Cinewomen Coalition, decided to employ the other women in her group as crew members for a short she was shooting, even though they had little to no experience as crew members.  Christina spent time beforehand training them in their different roles, and the weekend shoot was a success.  The women got some experience and some confidence.  Who knows what they’ll do next…  I’m hoping that as more young women take the reins of filmmaking, both they and their stories will bubble into the mainstream and start changing those miserable statistics.

Just watched two road movies featuring women :  “Thelma and Louise” (1991)  — (woman writer, Callie Khouri, who won an Original Screenplay Oscar for it in 1992; male director, Ridley Scott) —  and “Meek’s Cutoff” (2010) (woman filmmaker, Kelly Reichardt).   “Thelma and Louise” is of course a classic, women on the road doing the outlaw thing and becoming freer and more themselves as they do it.  Wonderful performances by Susan Sarandon and Geena David (not to mention Brad Pitt).  It was a big deal when it came out – two women carrying a whole movie.  It did well, too, about 45 million.  The same year, Kathryn Bigelow, later (2010) to be the first woman director ever to get an Oscar, had a movie out, too – “Point Break, a male action/adventure story, which did just about as well, though “Terminator 2” the same year raked in 517 million – more than ten times as much.   Anyway, in these present times when many state legislatures are busy stripping women of our ability to make decisions about our own bodies, it was particularly great to re-see this iconic movie.  Yeah, the women were getting violent, but they were also coming into their own, and it had to do with taking on their own power rather than finding the perfect mate.  Pretty radical.

“Meek’s Cutoff” takes place in 1845 with a small group of pioneers wending their way through eastern Oregon desert, getting lost, and running out of water.  The pace is slow.  The scenery is stark and beautiful.  The men are the decision-makers as the women can only look on.  But slowly, one of the women (played by Michelle Williams) begins to assert herself.  This was a movie I wound up liking a lot more than I thought I would.  It kind of sneaks up on you, through the dire straits the characters are in, and, yes, through the beautiful directing and photography.   More achingly real than your average western, and less crowd-pleasing, but haunting.  It came out in 2010, and hasn’t yet crossed the one million mark.

* Link to Meg Wolitzer’s article

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/books/review/on-the-rules-of-literary-fiction-for-men-and-women.html?_r=1&sq=April%201%202012%20book%20review&st=cse&adxnnl=1&scp=6&adxnnlx=1333762851-bU95oXRwWfcuiD0NA8gwaw

Meanwhile, I just watched the 1939 version of “The Women,” which had been recommended by one of the friends to whom I’d sent the questions about women in film.  I’d seen it eons ago, and it was great to revisit the terrific performances, particularly by Rosalind Russell as a mischief-making gossip, and Joan Crawford as a social-climbing home-wrecker.  The movie was unique at the time because the cast was 100 percent female.  The sensibility is archaic for us – society women with time on their hands being bitchy to each other and competitive (or is this the territory of things like “Desperate Housewives”?  I haven’t seen it) – and the ultimate message is “swallow your pride and stand by your man.”  But there are cross-currents of support among some of the women, and it is an absolute delight to see these amazingly talented actors doing their thing.

Before I left for Cinequest I watched Fellini’s “La Strada” (1954), another movie I hadn’t seen in eons.  It’s just as brilliant and heartbreaking as I remembered it, with an incandescent performance by Giulietta Masina as the naïve, fey Gelsomina who has been purchased (a small wad of money to her mother) by abusive Zampanò (Anthony Quinn) to assist him as an itinerant entertainer.  In a way, it’s Zampanò’s story – he doesn’t/can’t/won’t look at his own brutishness until finally the realization of it bursts at him from within and completely overwhelms him in a scene of wrenching anguish – but it is Gelsomina that everyone remembers when I mention the film.  Here is a character who only needs a bit of tenderness to thrive in a brutal world, but she is constantly betrayed or abandoned, and finally she loses her spirit.   In her odd way, she has hoped for love – when she has a chance to leave Zampanò and stay at a convent with a group of nuns, she goes with her man, horrible as he is.  Women’s fate?  There are two other minor but striking women characters as well – a woman that Zampanò picks up in a café – what happens to her?  It won’t be good – and a widow who just wants a roll in the hay.  She seems like a survivor, despite a hard life alone with a disabled child.  The prospects are bleak, but it’s all gorgeously filmed in beautifully framed and lit black and white.

Cinequest is held in San Jose, California, a city with great film venues, restaurants, bars, hotels, and a couple of wonderful museums, everything in good walking distance.  We had three screenings of the movie – two in the afternoon and one in the morning.  Attendance was about 75-85 people per screening – not too bad for the schedule we had – and we got a lot of really positive feedback.  I only went to one party (great food, micro-brew beer, lots of people including Elliott Gould, loud music that made it hard to talk) because I hung out with various bay area friends instead, and spent a couple of nights in Santa Cruz.  Saw some movies – two features and a program of shorts – which didn’t grab me that much, but basically had a good time and was glad that a bunch of people got to see WW.

On to the Midwest, hosted by the Show Me Justice Film Festival.  I’d been invited to showcase there by the festival director, Mark von Schlemmer, whom I’d met last summer at the Maine International Film Festival.  At the University of Kansas, Lawrence – where I spent a terrific evening yakking with Catherine Preston, who teaches Film Theory and Visual Culture —  I spoke to a film class taught by actor/filmmaker Laura Kirk.  Great interaction with the students, and at the screening that evening had the pleasure of meeting a group of young women filmmakers, the Cinewomen Coalition, who asked the most penetrating and interesting post-screening questions I’ve had to date.  This was followed by a trip to the University of Central Missouri, where I spoke in two different sessions – “Women in Film: A Filmmaker’s Perspective,” and “Writing, Producing, & Directing the Independent Film” as part of a Women’s Week at the university.  Again, I got into some great discussion with both students and members of the public.

So… Nothing earthshaking to report, but a good time all around.   Next step – Circus Road is beginning to shop the film to distributors…

Friday, March 9th

1:00 p.m. – A Filmmaker’s Perspective.
3:00 p.m. – Writing, Producing, and Directing the Independent Film.
7:00 p.m. – Screening and Q&A.

Location: Elliot Ballroom

Presented by the Show Me Justice Film Festival Showcase.

A short interview on Alice @97.3 by movie critic Hooman.

Listen to interview (Flash required)

Thursday, March 8th

3:00 p.m. – Speaking with Film Students
6:00 p.m. – Screening and Q&A

A couple of weeks ago I watched another Reichardt film, “Wendy and Lucy,” about a hapless young woman and her dog.  I really wanted to like it because a) it was recommended to me by my good friend Linda, b) Reichardt’s last name is so similar to mine and she’s a female very well regarded independent filmmaker, and c) she teaches at Bard College, my alma mater.  I loved the spare and elegant look of it, the thoughtful balanced camera work, Michelle William’s fine performance (a little jarring seeing her as a millennial slacker shortly after her recent turn as Marilyn Monroe) but the movie didn’t grip me.  Maybe because there were no surprises (Yup, that woman’s gonna lose that dog) and not quite enough  context for me – couldn’t tell where this young woman was coming from or what was at stake.  I was left feeling sorry for all the dogs out there who are so dependent on humans who won’t take responsibility for them, but not much else.  I guess I’m too much of a story junkie.  Still, good to see a talented filmmaker pursuing her vision.

Wow, just looked at various reviews, and people seemed to like it a lot for its stark, brave portrayal of our desperate economic times.  Well okay.  Kudos for that.  But I still need context – there are many ways to respond to desperation, and I don’t have a handle on Wendy’s.  Is she made hapless by circumstances, or is she a hapless person regardless?

More satisfying for me was “In a Better World,” by Danish Filmmaker Susanne Bier.  Interestingly, she deals with the world of men and boys.  There’s a wife/mom, but she’s irrelevant to her son, and basically out of touch with her husband – loves him but was betrayed by him and can’t let him back in.  Anyway, he spends half his time off being a do-gooder doctor in Africa instead of dealing with his family.  What I like about the movie – aside from it’s gorgeous visuals – is the way Biers looks at male violence, which comes up in a variety of contexts, many having to do with revenge.  You can see this developing in the boys – one of whom is very angry, the other of whom is desperate for friends.  Biers focuses on the boys, but also draws in the parallel stories with the fathers.  Resolution comes through an emotional opening that follows an act of violence – an opportunity for communication and expression of love.  I also like the portrayal of children being in a world of their own, separate from adults, though influenced by adults, more in unintended ways than in intended ones.

Meanwhile, Cinequest is in less than two weeks!  Have sent out information to various San Jose area cancer groups, and through friends in Santa Cruz.  Giving myself pep talks about networking.  Looking forward to it….

Saturday, March 3: 2:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 4: 1:45 p.m.
Tuesday, March 6: 11:30 a.m.

Location:
Camera 12
201 South 2nd Street
San Jose, California

http://www.cinequest.org/film_festival.php

Purchase tickets

Saturday, March 3, 2:30 p.m.

Sunday, March 4, 1:45 p.m.

Tuesday, March 6, 11:30 a.m.

San Jose, California.  We’ll be screening at a theater called Cinema 12.  My friend, Jan, who lives in Santa Cruz and will be coming to the premiere with me, is asking the one remaining big question:  What To Wear?  I have more than a month to think about it.

Right after Cinequest I’ll go directly to the Midwest where, in addition to the screening/talk at the University of Central Missouri, I’ll be visiting a film class at the University of Kansas.  From glitz to academia all in one week!

The only “women’s” movie I managed to see in the last couple of weeks is My Big Fat Greek Wedding — NOT one discussed by any of my women friends in my informal survey.  I guess it was something of an indie blockbuster about ten years ago.  Some funny scenes and great set decoration, but not much character development.  I mean you root for the Nia Vardalos character because she’s so engaging and you want the ugly duckling to turn into the swan, but her main complaint is that all her parents want to do is marry her off, and then it turns out that all she wants to do is get married, just her way instead of theirs.  An ever popular theme, I guess.  Just like What To Wear.  My main take-away from all of this is that yes, we want to see more varied women’s experiences portrayed on screen, but we also want to be entertained…

1) What are some movies you’ve enjoyed over the years with interesting women characters and/or stories about women?

2) What are the kinds of women’s stories or characters you’d like to see on screen but never do?

Got some great responses, referring to particular characters in particular movies (such as Ripley in Alien, Jackie Brown, Ree in Winter’s Bone), and also to certain women actors who tended to play strong women in whatever roles they played, women like Mae West, Katharine Hepburn, and Melissa Leo, plus many many more.  Several people mentioned Thelma and Louise.

My respondents admire screen women who display self-determination, who move and inspire others, who have a comedic aspect, who are strong but retain their perspective as women, who might be a mess but can still forge ahead.   They’d like to see more stories that explore cultural stereotypes (such as the sacred mother/child bond), stories in which the women are normal looking, stories in which women maintain their wildness rather than becoming tame through the agency of men.

This is just a brief summary of what some of the women said.  It makes me want to have a film festival where we would show the films that everyone mentioned, or a salon where we could watch one or two per week and talk about them…  Anyway, stay tuned for further thoughts.

On a completely different front, we had the technical experience of transferring Warrior Woman onto HD CAM, one of the screening formats possible for Cinequest.  It involved an expensive, heavy, and old-fashioned looking machine, and, of course, there were some initial glitches.  But David and Stuart smoothed it all out, and we now have what we need.  So this week we will send it off.  Getting closer…