So, now that I’m making my first real film, I’ve been watching a lot of movies for inspiration, and reading a lot about the film directing process. One of the first things I realized, that never really stuck in my mind until I started working toward my own film project, is that there is a serious imbalance of attention paid to male and female directors. In the horror film genre, I have yet to watch one horror film while being aware that it was directed by a woman. Through my research, I now know there ARE women horror film directors out there, a few of the well-known female-directed horror films being “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “American Psycho” and “Pet Cemetery”. But most of the film history books reference male filmmakers. Seriously, before doing my research for this blog post, I have read lists and lists of classic and contemporary horror films directed by men, but NONE by women. To quote Rebecca Keegan, who wrote for the L.A. Times on February 1st, 2010:
“A woman is more likely to hold a seat on a Fortune 500 company board (15%), serve as a member of the clergy (15%), or work as an aerospace engineer (10%) than she is to direct a Hollywood movie (7%).”
“In 2010, women were most likely to work in the romantic comedy, documentary and romantic drama genres, and least likely to work in the horror, action and comedy genres, according to (San Diego State’s ‘Celluloid Ceiling’) study.”
With a little bit of research online I learned that there’s a good amount of support for emerging female directors. A few examples include the Birds Eye View organization in the UK (http://www.birds-eye-view.co.uk/2/home/homepage.html), the BleedFest in L.A. (http://bleedfest.com/we-are/), and the Sarah Jacobson Film Grant online (http://sjfilmgrant.wordpress.com/about/). The more I research, the more I discover- which is exciting!! But… women horror film directors? They are out there, but as Rebecca Keegan mentioned, they’re far and in between. An excellent article in the Guardian written by Emine Saner quotes Professor Barbara Creed, author of The Monstrous-Feminine, who examined women’s roles in horror films:
“Horror reflects society. What we probably need are more thoughtful horror films that speak directly to female experiences. There are plenty of bad taste, poorly-made misogynistic horror films around – as with all genres.”
Likewise, the article also quoted Caroline Cooper Charles, who is head of creative development of Darklight, an initiative to encourage female horror directors at the low-budget film studio Warp X:
“I think women have a different take on what people find scary. I love horror films but most I don’t find scary. Some of the ideas the women have come up with are scary, perhaps rooted in their own experiences. A lot of them have female lead characters. What we’re not getting is the standard horror film, where the only appearance girls make is to run around semi-clothed before getting their heads chopped off. The female characters are much more important in the narrative than in most horror films.”
Jennifer Eiss discusses women’s involvement with and contribution to the horror genre in her article “Do Women Prefer Psychological Horror?”:
“Women have been involved in horror since the conception of the genre, back when horror stories only appeared in writing and were given labels such as ‘Gothic fiction’ and ‘ghost stories’. Mary Shelley published her seminal Frankenstein in 1818, and it has become one of the most famous and iconic monster stories of modern times. Women such as Pulitzer Prize-winner Edith Wharton, children’s book author Edith Nesbit and many, many others were heavily involved in and lauded during the modern ghost story boom of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.”
But, you ask, WHO are these women horror filmmakers? And WHAT are they making? Well, I will reply, here are some of my favorite discoveries:
Helene Cattet: “Chambre Jaune”
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Kerry Anne Mullaney: “The Dead Outside”
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Jen & Sylvia Soska: “Dead Hooker in a Trunk”
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Jackie Kong: “Blood Diner”
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Rita Mae Brown: “The Slumber Party Massacre”
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And I can’t not include this awesome trailer for “Zombie Girl”, a documentary about the now 18-year old Emily Hagin’s making of the film “Pathogen” at the age of 12:
To discover more, you might start by visiting this link to ghouls on film, which featured a post titled “10 Female Horror Directors You Should Know”: http://ghoulsonfilm.net/?p=331. Also check the comments to the post, which list 10 more.
And with that in mind, I will continue to endeavor on my own horror film, “Red Blob Massacre“. Coming SOON, to a theater near you.
You know, pomegranates have always kind-of baffled me. I could just never figure out the seeds of pomegranates. They’re so big! It’s hard to know whether to swallow them, or spit them out. 75% seed, 25% delicious fruit juice. If you’re lazy, like me, you don’t take the time to scoop them out one my one into a strainer and then remove all the bits and pieces and then rinse them and then FINALLY get around to eating them. No, I’m the type who cuts the thing in half and starts gnawing. I can hardly see my computer screen because it’s COVERED in pomegranate juice.
But, you know what? It’s worth it. Because pomegranates are GOOD. Despite the seeds, despite the awkwardness, despite the spraying juice. Pomegranates remind me what fall’s all about: eating.
As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m currently working on my thesis project for grad school, which is a low-fi horror film titled Red Blob Massacre. It will be a silent film, so sound will play a very large role in setting the mood and suspense/quirkiness of the story. In order to give my sound designer the best idea of what I’m going for, I spent some time today exploring music that I think is inspiring and may contribute to the through-line of the piece.
Please enjoy the few below that I’ve included:
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Scuba: “The Upside”
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Tied & Tickled Trio: “Chlebnikov”
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Clark: “Night Knuckles”
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I also love the sound for this video, played by the talented Frank Pahl:
(the video itself is also awesome.)
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And now, your assignment, as an active (or new) reader of my blog. PLEASE! Share at least one song that you find spooky/haunting/suspenseful/quirky/enticing in the comments section below. I appreciate your input, and as much as I love to write this blog and obsess over the site stats, I’d like to get to know you more and what your interests are. AND, it could really help me with my project!
Well, tonight was the opening of my newest video installation piece, titled “Face Off”. I have to say, it is one of the most vulnerable pieces of art I’ve ever made in my life. And I’m still not sure how I feel about showing it. But, these past two weeks of preparing the installation have been the most inspiring two weeks of action and direct result than I have experienced in a while. There’s something about having a deadline and just going for it; putting all the energy you have into it to create something to the best of your ability. All in all, I’ve learned a lot from this process. I still feel vulnerable, but sometimes letting your vulnerability show itself to the world is just about one of the best things you could do with it.
Here are a few pictures of the video aspect of the piece. More from the opening and installation to come soon…. :
I’ve been working for the past couple of weeks on an art installation, and through the process have gained new respect for artists who create interactive environments for their audience to explore and respond to. Below are some of my faves:
Ernesto Neto
Griya Kulo: Thousands of Pigeon Feathers
Cakeland in Oakland
Leandro Erlich: Swimming Pool
For Use/Numen: Tape Installation
Pipilotti Rist: Video Installations
Maurizio Cattelan
Louise Bourgeoise
The Creepy Hamburg Water Woman
David Cerny: Look into the Abyss
Spencer Tunick
And now, off to finish mine!!!
Image Links: (for some reason I’m having trouble connecting the link, so I’m afraid for most of these you’ll have to copy and paste until I figure it out.)
I’m not going to say too much today, because I’m deep in the throes of trying to finish up a grant proposal that’s due tomorrow. In fleeting moments of procrastination over the past two hours, I have collected some entertaining comics that at least for a moment have taken my mind off the grind of asking for money. There’s nothing like a little humorous interlude to put things in perspective.
I can’t help but be nostalgic about growing up in the 80s, especially now as it moves further and further away. I remember getting my Stepdad to buy me a L’Trimm album when I was 7 years old in 1988. I loved that cassette. However, my mom wasn’t so excited about her 7-year old listening to songs about cars that go BOOM, or moreover the boys inside the cars that make it go boom, and ended up taking it away from me until I was older… Looking back on it now, I can see what she was saying, but I gotta say: those girls ROCKED. Sassy, funky, influential female hip-hop artists whose first album Grab It!!, which included Cars that go Boom was released before they had even turned 18 years old. In my opinion, a pretty impressive accomplishment to expose your 7-year old daughter to, whether it includes a bit of tits and ass or not.
View it for yourself and make your own decision:
Cars that go Boom: L’Trimm (Lady Tigra and Bunny D)
Another favorite of mine was Vanilla Ice. The 80s Eminem? Not sure, but his hit Ice Ice Baby sure was cool when it was released in 1989.
Ice Ice Baby: Vanilla Ice
And then there was Mr. T., who apparently since being a big star has given up all his gold and is now a born-again Christian. I can’t help but remember him as the tough, weird-haired dude who sent moral messages out to kids just like me in the 80s.
The number one biggest challenge of being in grad school is managing time. The open slots when you think you actually have some time to work on your thesis project often are threatened by invitations to dinner parties, art openings, meetings, movie screenings, costume parties, last-minute get-togethers, etc. etc. etc. It’s not that I don’t love all the beautiful people who are doing amazing stuff. And it’s not that I don’t want to go to many of those events. BUT, in order to graduate, I also actually have to get work done. And if I keep filling my work time up with time I have to spend running around trying to make sure that everyone knows how much I love them, the work I have to do is NEVER GONNA GET DONE.
I was inspired in a moment of procrastination today (the other threat to ever finishing my thesis) with an article in tiny buddha (http://tinybuddha.com/) titled “It’s Okay to Say No”. Here are the opening lines of this encouraging (and guilt-freeing) article:
Sometimes I feel immense pressure to do all kinds of things I don’t want to do. The reality is, I often put this pressure on myself. I think about the things I should do. Or the things I think I should want to do. Or the things other people might expect me to do.
And all this thinking can drain me—before I’ve gotten a chance to do anything. This is basically choosing to create anxiety where there could be peace and joy. It’s wasting precious time, feeling conflicted, restricted, and full of angst. (for the full article, go here: http://tinybuddha.com/quotes/tiny-wisdom-its-ok-to-say-no/)
Now that I’m working on learning to say no to things that I just don’t have the time to do, I need to work on how to say no to procrastinating. Does it ever end??!
Here are a few short clips of inspiration on how to say NO:
