Women in Film Portraits is a series by Lauren Sowa about supporting, cheering, helping, and connecting with up-and-coming creative artists. In an industry where female voices are still underrepresented, this project is timely and vital. The series will launch in January with a profile of Iranian-American Director Natasha Kermani. New interviews will appear monthly at the magazine.
Annie Berman, named one of The Independent’s ten filmmakers to watch (2016), is a media artist living and working in New York City. Her background in photography and psychology inspires work about visual culture, virtual realities, and the changing media landscape. Her films, videos, performances, and installations have shown internationally including at the Museum of Modern Art’s Doc Fortnight, Rooftop Films, Galerie Patrick Ebensperger Berlin, Kassel Hauptbahnhof, and the Rome Independent Film Festival where she was awarded the Best Experimental Film Prize. Recently, Annie spoke with The Independent’s editor about her newest VR project—an exploration of the possibilities and limitations of virtual reality through the aftermath of Second Life.
This fall, the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, Massachusetts ran a retrospective of Adrienne Barbeau’s major cult films. Mike Sullivan attended the final event—a screening of The Fog and presentation of the Coolidge Corner Theatre’s “After Midnite Award” to Barbeau. Sullivan spoke briefly with Barbeau just before the screening and also attended the robust Q&A.
In Circle Up, Boston-based filmmaker Julie Mallozzi explores the power of peacemaking circles in restorative justice. She documents women using this indigenous practice to cope with extreme violence and loss. Marie-Emmanuelle Hartness met with Julie after a screening and Q&A at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge to discuss the film’s production and its use in activism.
The Independent’s Editor speaks with Gnimbin Ouattara, Associate Professor of History and International Studies at Brenau University on his new documentary Ali, mbomayé’s. The film centers on four African people who vividly remember the 1974 “Rumble in the Jungle” fight in Zaire, where Muhammad Ali, former heavyweight champion, defeated George Foreman, the undefeated world heavyweight champion in a knockout.
Courtney Sheehan talks with Serbian Director Mila Turajlic at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival. Turajilic’s new documentary, The Other Side of Everything (Druga strana svega) mines the depths of family history to offer an untold story of Yugoslavia’s past. The filmmaker shares about her process, her family’s fascinating story, and the role of documentary in representing and reflecting upon cultural complexities.
Kaufman’s Game is the award-winning, full-length drama by first time Writer/Directer Helier Bissell-Thomas. The film stars Jye Frasca as Stanley, an unemployed man with a passion for boxing, who becomes drawn into the violent operations of a powerful organization. The Independent’s editor caught up with Bissell-Thomas to discuss the film’s production and its influences.
The Independent’s editor speaks with Ricardo Bouyett, filmmaker, writer, and photographer of the new short No Love For Fuckboys. The film, which won “Best Experimental Short” at the Short To The Point International Film Festival, is an exploration—at once personal and more broadly social—of the intricacies of navigating dating, friendship, love, and desire after the trauma of sexual assault.
The Independent catches up with Yvonne Michelle Shirley, creator of the new documentary, Miasia: The Nature of Experience. The film, which featured at BlackStar Film Festival, chronicles the life of Brooklyn teenager Miasia Clark as she navigates her everyday world and prepares to present at the first ever Black Girl Movement National Conference. Miasia is joined in this effort by members of her activist group, Girls for Gender Equity.