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Women in Cinema
Sunday, January 31, 1999 I decided to skip the morning festivities that were part of the Women in Cinema Film Festival. A brunch, panel discussion, and script reading were too much for me at ten in the morning. I needed to spend the time doing laundry! I did manage to get five loads done, even though a neighbor had gotten down there ahead of me. I should have gotten up at eight, instead of nine! The first program item was another bunch of short films. I especially liked "The Badger's Paw," about a man who tries to cure his lover's apparent frigidity by putting such a paw under the bed. This was a little long at 23 minutes, but had a great look to it. The female lead was quite luscious! "Insomnia" was about a guy who can't sleep with his girlfriend in the bed. In the movie, this is a symbol of his problems with commitment, but in real life there are plenty of couples who get along great, but don't necessarily share a bed for sleeping, even when living together. Three of the filmmakers were present for questions after the show, which always puts some pressure on the audience. What if no one can think of anything to ask? or at least, anything that sounds positive. One can always think of questions like "Why on earth did you choose this story?" or "Why are you torturing us like this?" but I don't think the directors would like to hear them! For this show, we had the most discussion of the technical details and autbiographical background of "My Turn," directed by Tracey Izatt. She talked at length about how she went from video to animation to film, and how her mom and family reacted to the abuse issues (again!) she explored in the movie. The second movie was Bellyfruit, a triptych about teenage mothers that surpassed my expectations. I was thinking it would be either terribly earnest and preachy, or superficial and obvious like an afterschool special. Even though the subject matter is serious, there were some funny moments, and it held my attention. I recommend it! Rider of the Flames (Feurreiter) was my last movie of the day. This is a German costumer about Friedrich Hölderlin, a poet living in Germany in the late 1790s. Turgid, overblown, annoying! Hölderlin is a poet and tutor, having an affair with the wife of his wealthy employer. Another man, who got him the job, is attracted to him. Lots of gowns, fireworks, empty mansions, passionate secret embraces, troops of soldiers, bad behavior. I'm afraid I didn't have much sympathy for the male lead (I wouldn't call him a hero!). I left before it ended, since I wanted to get home. That might be my last movie for the festival, since I expect to be busy for the rest of the nights, and I want to get some dancing in this week as well. I may even see if someone else wants to take over my pass! I'm glad I subscribed, though. It's been fun! It's good to see movies directed by women, but I don't think you can draw lines around them and say "These are the kinds of movies directed by women." I don't think I see many similarities!
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