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Posted Female Filmmakers

I Carry You With Me/Te llevo conmigo

“That place destroys people with loneliness.”

Iván (Armando Espitia) is a divorced single father who dreams of becoming a chef. But in his small town in Mexico, the best job he can get, despite his culinary training, is relegated to a menial role at his local restaurant. One day, Iván attends an underground party with his best friend Sandra (Michelle Rodriguez). There he meets Gerardo (Christian Vázquez), a handsome young man who catches his attention with a laser pointer. The two hit it off instantly. Iván is still in the closet, knowing that coming out will hurt his chances of seeing his son. This complicates his relationship with Gerardo who is out, despite his father’s disapproval. When Iván is outed, he decides to make the treacherous journey across the border to become a chef in the United States. He risks it all for a chance at a new life. But will he ever see Gerardo or his son again?

Directed by Heidi Ewing, I Carry You With Me/Te llevo conmigo is a beautiful queer love story about two Mexican men who risk it all for a better life together.  Based on a true story, the film is both documentary and feature film with footage of present day Iván and Gerardo interspersed with narrative scenes played out by actors Armond Espitia and Christian Vázquez. This film is absolutely brilliant. It tackles immigration, homophobia, queer relationships, Mexican culture, and the isolating experience of the Mexican diaspora.

This film is both heart wrenching as it is uplifting. It sends its viewers through the emotional ringer and I found myself deeply invested in Iván and Gerardo’s story. Espitia and Vázquez really deliver with their performances. And to top it all off, the food Iván creates looks absolutely delicious. Don’t watch this film on an empty stomach. 

“For this film, I came to the conclusion that it needed to be told in a different format than what I’d done before. This story took place over generations and so the movie would need a sweeping, romantic quality to it. I wanted to see and feel their youth and experience their love. It felt deeply cinematic by nature and just needed a different treatment entirely.”

Director Heidi Ewing

I Carry You With Me/Te llevo conmigo is distributed by Sony Pictures Classics and is currently out in theaters and available on demand.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Clairevoyant

Claire (Micaela Wittman) is having a quarter-life crisis.  After discovering her spiritual guru Tony Robbins and taking a Vinyasa Yoga Flow class, Claire finds herself on the path to enlightenment. And of course, she has to make a documentary about her journey. She hires cameraman Earl (Arthur De Larroche) to film her as she seeks wisdom from various spiritual guides. Claire is out of touch, tone deaf and downright delusional. She lives comfortable in a Beverly Hills home funded by her father and pretends to have some mysterious trauma that really doesn’t exist in her otherwise cushy and privileged life. After a series of disappointments, Claire is forced to face the truth about herself.

“I don’t want to be sad anymore. I just want to be happy all the time.”

Claire

Written and directed by Micaela Wittman and Arthur De Larroche, Clairevoyant is a delightfully quirky mockumentary that offers heaping doses of both humor and cringe. Wittman is terrific as Claire, playing into the character’s naivety and awkwardness. The film accurately depicts both millennial angst and white woman privilege and offers criticism on the commodification of spirituality. At its heart though, it’s really about a delusional young woman trying to find her way in life. 

Clairevoyant is available on digital and VOD.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Les nôtres

In the tight-knit community of Saint-Adeline, Quebec, a scandal is quietly rising to the surface. The town is still reeling after a major tragedy five years earlier. 13 year old Magalie (Emilie Bierre) is navigating the aftermath of her father’s death, high school, dance classes and her secret relationship with “Taz”. When Magalie collapses during dance rehearsal, she’s brought to the hospital where the doctor informs her mother Isabelle (Marianne Farley ) that Magalie is pregnant. Everyone thinks that Manu, the young Mexican immigrant being fostered by Chantal Grégoire (Judith Baribeau) and her husband, Mayor Jean-Marc Ricard (Paul Doucet), is the father. But not all is as it seems. Magalie refuses to reveal the identity of the father, which comes at a great cost to her well-being.

Directed and co-written by Jeanne Leblanc, Les nôtres is a solemn yet powerful social drama. It explores the indestructible nature of small communities, anti-immigrant sentiment and social power dynamics. It’s fascinating to see how Emilie’s pregnancy causes relationships to fray. It can be an uncomfortable movie to watch especially due to its subject matter. However, once you start watching the film, you won’t be able to step away. Recommended.

Les nôtres is distributed by Oscilloscope Laboratories and is available in select theaters and on demand.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Holler

High school senior Ruth (Jessica Barden) is smart. She’s also incredibly insolent. That’s her  survival mechanism for life in her small rust belt town. Her and her brother Blaze (Gus Halper) work at a local scrap yard to make ends meet while their drug addict mother (Pamela Adlon) is stuck in county jail. But work and money are hard to come by and when Ruth and Blaze are evicted, they resort to helping their sketchy boss Hark (Austin Amelio) steal scrap metal. When a college acceptance letter arrives in the mail, Ruth finds out that her application, which she finished but set aside, was mailed in my her brother. College is Ruth’s beacon of hope to get out of her situation. But will she be able to scrape enough money to get out?

Written and directed by Nicole Riegel, Holler is a poignant coming-of-age story. Riegel’s film brilliantly evokes the struggle of small town life and what it’s like when the cards seem stacked against you. Jessica Barden is simply brilliant as Ruth, the film’s flawed yet relatable protagonist. Ruth’s insolence can be off-putting and her story requires some patience. On second viewing I found more richness in the film and relished in all of the small details and nuances once I was able to break down that barrier to entry.

In a statement Riegel notes, “my film is a semi-autobiographical story about how challenging it was to transcend where I came from as a young woman, both practically and emotionally.” Holler was shot on location in Jackson, Ohio, Riegel’s hometown, and includes many locals as extras for authenticity.

Holler is distributed by IFC Films and is available in theaters and on demand 

Posted Film Reviews

Undine

Legend has it that Undine, a water nymph from European mythology, transforms into a human when she falls in love. However, if the man of her desire betrays her, he must die. Writer and director Christian Petzold retells the Undine myth against the backdrop of modern day Berlin. Undine Wibeau (Paula Beer) is a historian specializing in the history of Berlin’s urban development . Right before one of her lectures her boyfriend Johannes (Jacob Matschenz) breaks up with her to pursue a relationship with another woman. Undine knows she must kill Johannes, and even tells him so, but soon becomes distracted by another man. Christoph (Franz Rogowski) is a professional diver who attends one of Undine’s lectures. Their first meeting almost cost Christoph’s his life but Undine saves him and they soon fall in love. However, Johannes is soon back in the picture and Undine is soon faced with her cursed destiny.

“If you leave me, I have to kill you. You know that.”

Undine

Undine is a quiet and sometimes peculiar retelling of a classic myth. It is light on fantastical elements and instead focuses on modern day realism. Paula Beer plays the mystifying Undine Wibeau with such skill. Beer’s Undine is haunting, mysterious, and beautiful; an enigma who will enchant viewers. It is so easy to get caught up in the film’s love story. Patient viewers will be rewarded generously.

Undine hits select theaters June 4th and will also be available on digital and VOD platforms.

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