Shooting Women 2007
Distributed by Women Make Movies, 462 Broadway, New York, NY 10013; 212-925-0606
Produced by Alexis Krasilovsky
Directed by Alexis Krasilovsky
DVD, color, Disc One: 54 min.; Disc Two: 103 min.
Jr. High - Adult
Film Studies, Gender Studies, Media Studies, Women's Studies
Date Entered: 05/29/2009
Reviewed by Rob Sica, Eastern Kentucky UniversityThis affecting and informative globe-spanning documentary explores the history and lives of female cinematographers in the motion picture and television industry. Based on her 1997 book of the same name, director Alexis Krasilovsky (Department of Cinema and Television Arts, Cal State Northridge) spent six years gathering interviews from nearly seventy camerawomen in seventeen countries – including Afghanistan, India, China, Iran, Senegal, the Philippines, South Korea, Mexico, and Japan. The result, interwoven with clips from their work, is both sobering and inspiring, an expansive, diverse, and richly illuminating mosaic of perspectives on the struggles and successes of creative artists within a historically male-dominated profession, in the U.S. and abroad. (According to Krasilovsky, only two percent of the top 250 top-grossing Hollywood films have female directors of photography.)
Recurring topics addressed from an instructively international variety of outlooks include the challenges posed by discrimination, sexual harassment, childrearing, documentary work in war zones, and several speculations are offered concerning the aesthetically unique contribution women make to the art of cinematography. Highlights among the interviews include China’s first camerawoman (and her historic footage of Mao), the first female member of the International Cinematographers Guild, several female members of the American Society of Cinematographers, the ‘grandmother of the French New Wave’ Agnes Varda, African American pioneer Jessie Maple, and India’s first feature director of photography.
An accompanying disc features 25 additional interviews, an interview with the director, and a downloadable study guide. Recommended for general collections and highly recommended for academic collections serving film studies, gender studies, media studies and women’s studies. Awards
- San Francisco Women’s Film Festival, Best Women in Cinema Award & Tribute Award
- Female Eye Film Festival, Best Documentary Film
- Broadcast Education Association (BEA) Festival of Media Arts, Best Long Form Documentary
- Moondance Int’l Film Festival, Spirit of Moondance Award, Best Documentary Feature
- WOW Film Festival, Best Int’l Documentary