For those headed for Berlin Film Festival, keep an eye out another six-hour screening Jane Campion’s Top of the Lake. At a Sundance Film Festival press conference, Top of the Lake directed by Jane Campion and Garth Davis, cast and crew comments drew on the intertwining complexities of the human condition, as the murder mystery gains well deserved accolades for the upcoming television series on the Sundance Channel beginning March 18.
It was also a six hours long screening at the Egyptian Theater on Main Street with intermission and lunch time included before the final three hours. Bringing back the days of a communal viewing experience, Top of the Lake becomes a “Kubelka” moment– people could not stop talking about this screening, pouring over into the Monday morning press conference and continuing to the Tuesday morning WIFTI Women in the Directors’ Chair panel at the New York Film Office.
Jane Campion, (director of The Piano), brilliantly writes with Gerard Lee creating unforgettable characters for Holly Hunter and Elizabeth Moss while uncovering the story of women’s lives– past, present and a foreboding future of facing what many have painfully kept under wraps. Elizabeth Moss and Holly Hunter spoke openly about their roles along with the rest of cast commenting on the high level of writing, directing and cinematography set in small-town New Zealand and neighboring wild, mountainous environs. Good things always come from the Kiwis.
Worthwhile films are sometimes hard to come by and I saw two misses from women filmmakers: Two Mothers and Ass Backwards. Not much to say about either other than surprise that it made it into the Sundance lineup. Two Mothers is nothing more than a vanity project for Robin Wright and Naomi Watts in their bikinis in beautiful New South Wales. The photography is stunning as is the production design but the story is as commonplace as the afternoon soaps.
The same goes for Ass Backwards, written by Casey Wilson and June Diane Raphael, as “lovable losers’ Chloe and Kate. There’s nothing lovable about dumb, silly women who behave the same way as men in dumb movies. Directed by Chris Nelson, the entire movie is erratic in unrelated vignettes with humiliating “dumbing-down” situations that do not make any sense; therefore, as agonizingly as the worst SNL, every lame joke in recent comedy writing history was thrown into this “fast food” disaster. Skip it.
However, there were films that balanced out my disappointment and I look forward to seeing them get distribution. Gideon’s Army, directed by Dawn Porter, was in the U.S. Documentary Competition. It following three young, very committed public defenders working long hours with low pay for people who otherwise would have no chance to recover their lives as law abiding citizens. Finding the thread that connects passion with frustration, disappointment with hope for their clients is no easy task and Ms. Porter brought it together eloquently, high on emotion for the audience to cheer them on. Well done.
Another great documentary premiere was Anita, directed by Frieda Mock. It’s twenty years since the senate hearings, Anita Hill received a recorded voice mail from Mrs. Clarence Thomas asking why she said what she did all those years ago. Was it a crank call or the real thing? As Ms. Hill steps forward in this doc with her answer to the recording’s question– that she felt obliged to tell the truth– and by doing so, there was a price to pay. Memorable footage from the row of white middle-aged men firing accusatory questions, repeating her statements, news cameras surrounding her every move, death threats and the still-in-plastic dry cleaned aquamarine blue suit she never wore again, the doc plays out in triumph with Anita Hill finding her voice strong and with dignity.
There was great fanfare for women in the director’s chair with eight out of sixteen films in U.S. Dramatic Competition, but let’s not forget the many more women directors bringing great social commentary documentaries to Sundance including directors Barbara Kopple Running From Crazy; Lucy Walker, The Crash Reel; Frieda Mock, Anita; Alison Ellwood, History of the Eagles, Part 1; Sarah Polley, Stories We Tell; Christina Voros, Kink. Hats off to all.
03/08/2013
Film Festivals