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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 Female Filmmakers

Yes, God, Yes

Alice (Natalia Dyer)’s sexual curiosity is getting her unwanted attention at her Catholic high school. After an illicit AOL chat and a rumor about her performing a sexual act on another student, high school is now even more awkward for the already awkward Alice. When an opportunity arises to go to a supposedly life-changing spiritual treat, Alice jumps at the chance. However, at the retreat she quickly learns that the perception of purity is toxic especially when everyone has their own secrets, including her.

Written and directed by Karen Maine, Yes, God, Yes is a gentle coming-of-age story that examines problems with purity culture. Set during the time when AOL chats and Yahoo! searches online were the norm, Alice navigates the online world to discover her own sexuality. The film tackles all sorts of topics, including gossip, misogyny, homosexuality, and shaming, with a light touch. As someone who had a strict religious upbringing and grew up during this technological era, I found Alice’s story very relatable. The film could have delved into some other aspects of purity culture and religion or given us more background on the characters. However, doing so would have made the story more heavy-handed. Instead, Maine gives us a movie that is equal parts enjoyable and revelatory.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Together Together

What happens when you’re more than ready for your next journey but life hasn’t caught up with you yet? Matt (Ed Helms) wants to have a  baby.  He’s 45 years old, a successful app developer, financially stable and emotionally ready for parenthood. The trouble is he doesn’t have a partner. Matt takes the next step and hires surrogate. Anna (Patti Harrison) is a 20-something barista who agrees to the arrangement so she can afford to go back to college. Parent and surrogate are supposed to remain emotionally distant but Matt wants to be involved in every step of the process. The two form a bond that crosses the boundaries they were supposed to set for each other. What will happen when the baby finally arrives?

Written and directed by Nikole Beckwith, Together Together is a sweet, quirky movie about the curveballs life throws at you and how relationships don’t always fit easily into societal molds. Beckwith was inspired by “the idea of strangers coming together in such an intimate and complicated circumstance.” The movie takes its time exploring all the nuances of Matt and Anna’s situation with all the ups and downs that come with it. Helms is fantastic as the neurotic soon-to-be-dad and Harrison is a delight as the emotionally conflicted Anna. The film suffers from an abrupt ending that will leave some viewers frustrated. Despite that, I recommend you watch this charming and heartfelt movie.

Together Together is in theaters now and releases on digital May 11th.

Posted Documentaries

The Place That Makes Us

Youngstown, Ohio is a steel mill city on the Rust Belt that has seen a major decline over the past few decades. The mills closed and the subsequent loss of jobs sent its residents fleeing. For those left behind, they were faced with a crumbling infrastructure, an uptick in violence and crime and hundreds of vacant homes. 

Directed by Karla Murthy, The Place That Makes Us spotlights a group of Youngstown residents seeking to transform their hometown. Filmed over the course of three years, the documentary follows members of the city council and organizers of YNDC (Youngstown Neighborhood Development Committee) as they work to rebuild Youngstown’s abandoned homes and make plans to boost their community. While the documentary is specifically about Youngstown, it could really be about any shrinking city or town in America. What the film does really well is drive home the message that any community can be transformed but it takes its residents, not outsiders, to really enact that change.

The Place That Makes Us premieres today on the WORLD channel series America Reframed. Visit the official website for more information.

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