A Morning with Rama Rau - Hot Docs Filmmaker Series

Hot Docs, you are spoiling me WAY too much. Patricia Rozema - Alethea Arnaquq-Baril - Christina Jennings - and now Rama Rau!

Rama directed THE REHTEAH PARSONS STORY, MARKET, and most recently LEAGUE OF EXOTIQUE DANCERS.

Hearing her talk was electrifying. She was honest, decisive, and human like the rest of us struggling filmmakers.

"You get as much as you put into a film" - she said.

I'd never thought of it that way, but it makes total sense. As a filmmaker you have to find a balance between keeping distance from your story and also being passionate about it.

My favourite thing Rama said is that their is "no manual." And THAT'S something they don't teach you in film school. Each story demands a different kind of treatment.

What's her secret? Rama admitted that they way she is able to get so close with her subjects and foster a trusting relationship is by giving half herself. This is the part where she mixes her passion and distance together. She said, "it isn't about money. It's just what I am genuinely interested in doing."

Then she laughed and said to all us filmmakers in the audience, "honestly if you can do something else, do it..."

How does she connect with a story? This part was my favourite. She said, "the story puts a hook in me and pulls me. I want to do this for the audience."

She really emphasizes this back and forth energy that is transferring between her and the subjects and then her and the audience. It was never about "me". It was always WE.

Part of making a successful film is making the themes universal. You have to first ask yourself, is there one specific thing in my story that I can make speak to people?

Finally, the honesty came out. She talked about being a women, being brown, and being a director. Her first look into the film industry was being on Bollywood sets in Mumbai. She said you really have to act like a man to be respected (unfortunately). Coming to Canada, though, afforded her the opportunity to tell the kind of stories she was longing for: those with female protagonists.

"You learn failure."

That is one lesson I will carry with me moving forward in my own career. Thank you again Hot Docs for bringing this inspiring bad ass woman to the theatre for a talk.

If I had known about Patricia, Alethea, Christina, or Rama growing up, I think I would have jumped at being a filmmaker much quicker. Four amazing role models, successful in their own way.

Looking forward to all of their amazing next projects!

- Jenn

A Morning with Patricia Rozema - Hot Docs Filmmakers Series

I've Heard The Mermaids Singing Trailer 1987 Director: Patricia Rozema Starring: Paula Baillargeon, Sheila McCarthy, Paule Baillargeon, Ann-Marie MacDonald, John Evans, Brenda Kamino Official Content From New Line Home Entertainment Award-winning tale of an amateur female photographer who gets hired by a lesbian gallery owner.

A friend of mine pointed me in the direction to a new and amazing filmmakers series at Hot Docs. She was most excited to see Patricia Rozema, and I instantly signed up - feeling her excitement and mine grow! The series is moderated by Linda Barnard, a journalist / writer who previously championed another series focusing on gender. 

Meeting and hearing Patricia Rozema was like eating a perfectly cooked Creme Brulee. Everything she said was liquid gold. She was eloquent, spicy, and just a bit fantastic.

Patricia shared her philosophies as a director and I was so inspired by her wisdom:

PATRICIA ROZEMA

"art defines the human condition. So far, we have only defined the male condition" 

"there has to be intent behind the images"

 "I want to make people feel less alone. That's what drives me"

In discussing I'VE HEARD THE MERMAIDS SINGING, Linda asked Patricia how she came to write about the main character as she was so real and relatable. Was this person real and drawn from her own experiences?

Patricia answered that "character is story. If you know them, you know what they will do." This is how she wrote about Polly. "I knew she was out of fashion, and took the street car and liked film." BUT Patricia didn't want the film to be too self-reflexive (a film about a filmmaker making film) - so Polly became a photographer, and had Walter-Mitty-esque experiences through developing the negatives of the each photo.

ON MUSIC

One of the most compelling aspects of a Rozema film is the music. The dynamism in INTO THE FOREST coupled with the growing anxiety and Eva's dance practice to a metronome creates a sensual and gripping experience for the audience.

"people underestimate how powerful music is"

"it is important to find the right level of vibration with your composer"

"music is the art at which all other arts aspire"

SUBSCRIBE: http://bit.ly/A24subscribe Ellen Page and Evan Rachel Wood fight for survival in a post-apocalyptic world. Watch the new trailer for Into The Forest, from acclaimed writer/director Patricia Rozema. In Theaters This Summer.

ON FICTION

Patricia shared insightful tips about story and arc. She said, "fiction is always examining morality." There is a tension and release - which she believes is the key principle of beauty. The tightness and expansiveness of breath. Finally, the choices the characters make are always moral

To find the heart of the story, you have to understand the push and pull in the universe. There is art even in the things that are not seen.

Patricia concluded with a wonderful thought, that the best images are the ones that are written. Coming from such a talented scriptwriter and director, I was truly inspired by this amazing Canadian filmmaker! Until the next series...

- Jenn

Female Film Crush | Angela Barnhardt Thomas

One of the many people I got to spend time with at TIFF 2015 this year was a woman named Angela Barnhardt Thomas.

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Angela Barnhardt Thomas and Me at TIFF 2015

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She is the producer of Waiting for Mamu (2013), a doc that travelled world wide to raise money for Mamu's school.

Social issues docs have the power to educate, demystify, and bring awareness to an otherwise ignorant viewer. This doc has since successfully raised over 1 million dollars.

BUY HERE.

This is the power of cinema! And it is achievable when hard working / passionate people like Angela are a part of the team. 

Being fairly new to the industry and using TIFF as a platform to meet with established film professionals, I was blown away at how approachable and knowledgable Angela was. Not only did she patiently answer all my questions, but she even made script suggestions and helped me understand the industry better.

It was a true pleasure attending TIFF programming with her and we were able to discuss a variety of topics on break. Angela and I also talked about her current project, a doc about Charles James, and I am so thrilled to see that subject bloom into a feature length video.

Click HERE for more info from the MET exhibit from 2014.

Sometimes it is about these chance meetings in life that really provide us the support and inspiration we need to be successful. And it is the people we surround ourselves with that help us define who we are and where we are headed.

I am happy to call Angela a friend and look forward to future meetings together. NYC here I come!

- Jenn

Leslie Headland on Directing: Female Directors ARE Cool

Today I was looking through my subscriptions online, TIFF / MUFF / DOC / WIFT / CCE / Criterion Collection. I love getting e-newsletters.

In the MUFF letter, particularly, I came across an article in The Times, about Women Directors. 

The article was laid out beautifully, with portrait photography on a clean white backdrop of many Hollywood directors who are indeed women. The writing is clear, concise, and positive. It is not about condemning society or men for that matter, it is about recognizing the gap and bridging it through discussion, recognition, and change. We have to be the change to see the change!

Here is my favourite part:

"Leslye Headland is a 34-year-old writer and director who was in the same 2012 Sundance class as Trevorrow, with the movie version of her scorching Off Broadway play, ‘‘Bachelorette.’’ She bristles with ambition to do everything he is doing. Sitting in a red leather banquette at the Monkey Bar in New York, Headland told me she wants to be a Martin Scorsese, and ‘‘not just the female Martin Scorsese.’’ She wants to direct a James Bond movie, ‘‘even if I have to marry someone to get British citizenship.’’ She wants to make films in which women behave badly and are not held to a higher moral standard or seen as ‘‘less than.’’ She wants to look cool in magazine pictures so that ‘‘little girls will put female filmmakers on their Pinterest boards.’’ (Maureen Dowd, Nov. 20th, 2015, NY Times Magazine)

Can you imagine a society where a women in a power position is COOL. Man, I am on cloud 9 right now just thinking about it.

I shall end this with shock value, here re the blaring stats:

"In both 2013 and 2014, women were only 1.9 percent of the directors for the 100 top-grossing films. Excluding their art-house divisions, the six major studios released only three movies last year with a female director." (Maureen Dowd, Nov. 20th, 2015, NY Times Magazine)

Let's start championing directors equally. Not because they are men and not because they are women. But equally. By talent. Then we are levelling the playing field and creating a society that values success over gender. Film for thought!

- Jenn