Posts Marked Academy Awards

  • The Bigelow Effect: Women Filmmakers at EIFF by Tim Hayes

    July 15th, 2010

    Mr. Hayes is not only the ALMT publicist and lead editor,
    but also contributes film journalism and reviews to Critic’s Notebook and Cinemattraction.

    Tim Hayes on Theatrical Thursdays

    The Bigelow Effect: Women Filmmakers at EIFF

    One thread stood out loud and clear in the program of this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival: A batch of strong films made by women filmmakers. “The Runaways” and “Winter’s Bone” have been reviewed here already, but there were several more.

    Very appropriate then that Birds Eye View, the UK-based organization that champions and supports women in film, gathered together a group of women director
    s attending the festival for a roundtable chat to discuss their experiences and the challenges they faced getting their films made.

    Moderated by Amy Mole, Managing Director of Birds Eye View, the conversation’s title reflected the big news from earlier this year: The award of the Best Director Oscar to a woman for the first time.

    Here’s what they had to say about The Bigelow Effect.

    Photo courtesy of Birds Eye View. L-R: Amy Mole, Kit Hui, Stephanie Argy, Debra Granik

    Amy Mole (Birds Eye View): It’s been a landmark year for women in film. Kathryn Bigelow won the Oscar for “The Hurt Locker”, Andrea Arnold won a Bafta for “Fish Tank”…and then came Cannes where there wasn’t a single film directed by a woman in competition. Do you think Kathryn Bigelow’s success changes anything in the long run?

    Kit Hui (dire
    ctor of “Fog”): When Kathryn won I was very happy, but also a little sad at the same time. Sad that in order to win, a director has to conform to making that particular kind of film. It just feels to me like that’s the wrong way round.

    Stephanie Argy (director of “The Red Machine”): Actually I think that it was the other way round. I love that she won for that film, and threw herself into that kind of movie. Not having an obvious gender identity in a film is ultimately a worthy goal.

    Kit Hui: Well let me stress it’s fine that “The Hurt Locker” doesn’t automatically carry a female identity just because it has a female director! But I don’t think that the Oscars alone has changed anything.


    Debra Granik (director of
    “Winter’s Bone”): My hero was always documentary maker Barbara Kopple. When she was asked “Why do you make films about men?” she said “It’s what I know.” It seemed to me as if Kathryn Bigelow was actually given more license precisely because she was outside of the system. Ultimately, true diversity won’t be achieved through butting heads but through that kind of infiltration.

    Amy Mole: Can you describe your backgrounds, and what led you to becoming a director?

    Debra Granik: My training came from being around cable access channels and women documentary filmmakers, especially political activist filmmakers, in the 1980s. It was very common to see women with cameras in those kinds of circles at that time. When I got to NYU in 1995 it was actually the first year of male/female parity in the class, and I found that my women classmates were almost embarrassed by the word feminism…almost.

    Stephanie Argy: I started out as an editor in Los Angeles, and then got a masters in journalism at Columbia University. So no film school for me. But I did join the American Society of Cinematographers, which in practice became my film school. And there are very few lines for the ladies room in the ASC.

    Kit Hui: I was born in Hong Kong, ca
    me to the US and received a Master of Fine Arts from Columbia University’s Graduate Film Program. At university my mentors were people like Kelly Reichardt and Tom Kalin – so mostly either women or gay men. I think that when your mentors don’t come from majority groups, you learn a lot about when to be assertive and when not.
    Stephanie Argy: And it’s interesting that we all came through New York. The indie film community is more welcoming to women there.

    Amy Mole: Statistics say that women are p
    aid less than men and leave the film industry in greater numbers. In 2009, 700 men quit the business – and 5000 women. Why is it more difficult for women to stay in the industry and make films? What kind of barriers have you come up against?

    Debra Granik: Any personal friction tends to come from people in positions of power higher up the chain, rather than the attitudes of the person I’m actually dealing with at the time. But the subject matter is usually more of an issue than my gender. The stories I want to make are deemed non-commercial, so it’s assumed that they will lose money and there is a reluctance to film them. My tactic was to point out that my stories didn’t need a big budget or lots of equipment, but that seemed to work better on the East Coast of America than the West.
    Kit Hui: My name is gender-neutral, so once or twice people have assumed I’m male. But I’ve still had the predictable comments like “Why are there no guns in your script? Why no kung-fu fighting?”, after which the doors all close.

    Amy Mole: So finally, what advice would you give to women who want to break in to film making?

    Stephanie Argy: All the tools of film making are now so readily available that you should just try and direct everything you can. And keep in mind that gender is just one part of who you are: I’m a woman director, sure, but I’m also a nerd with parents from Chicago…that’s all part of my identity as well.

    Kit Hui: Don’t lose faith in what you’re trying to do. Try and gather a core team of people that you trust around you, since once that’s in place you can help to protect each other.
    Stephanie Argy: …but be aware that there are very few jobs that are as lonely as a film director.

    Check out Birds Eye View’s website to read more about them and their support for women in film.


    July 15th,2010 Blogging, Film Reviews by Tim Hayes, Theatrical Thursdays | Sections: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

  • ALMT-MM: The Weary Kind wins Best Song at Oscars

    March 8th, 2010

    On ALMT-Music Mondays I write about music.

    Happy International Women’s Day everyone! I am in a joyous mood because we have our first female Best Director in the history of the Academy Awards.  Being a female filmmaker, I am very hopeful that this can open doors for myself and others in my shoes.

    Women have stories to tell; people want to listen.

    Now that I got that out of my system, it being Music Monday let’s talk music.  Everyone will be talking about Sandra Bullock and Kathryn Bigelow, but let’s revisit the Best Song of last night: The Weary Kind, Theme from Crazy Heart.

    I thought it was strange that we didn’t get to hear the songs, what with the 10 film profiles taking their space. I would have loved to hear the competition.  Music buffs out there, what are your thoughts?

    March 8th,2010 Blogging, Music Mondays, Video | Sections: , , , , , , | No Comments