Femme Film Magazine

FEMME film

Dec. 2021

Directing Little Woman with Greta Gerwig

10 essential must-own DVD’s

Yesenia Alcoser

Elle Award Winner

Obstacles While Working On

Last Night in Soho

Contents 3 HOW TO Support Female Filmmakers

By Kate Muir What we all need to do to ensure more females are in the industry.

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Fashion Icons

By Lauren Alexis Fisher Six female characters that never go out of style.

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Buy Films Directed

by Women

Feminist Characters

By Kate Erbland

Female characters that have become idols worldwide.

List of amazing films everyone needs to have!

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By Burnie Burns

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Scarlett Johansson: “The Spotlight is Finally, Rightfully On Us”

G reta Gerwig Director of Little Woman

By Antonia Blyth Meet Greta Gerwig as she tells all on how it was directing Little Woman.

By Chris Gardner Scarlett Johansson won the annual Women in Hollywood award.

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Six Female Idols

Challenges in Last Night In Soho

By Francesca Fox Inisight from some of the most popular women in the industry.

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By Mark Olsen See what it was like for Thomasin McKenzie and Anya Taylor-Joy to work together.

Equality in Film Industry

By André Wheeler More women than ever are in the film industry, but we still need more.

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HOW TO Support Female Filmmakers

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here was plenty of fury at the usual lack of female representation at the Oscars and Baftas this year, but how does that translate into positive change and diversity on screen? Steve Martin and Chris Rock bemoaned the lack of “vaginas” among the nominees for best director during the Academy Awards ceremony. Meanwhile, Natalie Portman had the names of overlooked female directors embroidered by Dior in gold on her ceremonial cape, only to be rewarded by Rose McGowan’s unceremonious response that “Portman’s type of activism is deeply offensive to those of us who

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actually do the work.” But women directed only 12% of the top-grossing 100 films last year. So how do we move from activism – in whatever form – to lights, camera and action? Here are five ways to encourage more women directors.

Hire women

This sounds simple, but while men often make a single leap from a debut independent film to a studio blockbuster – such as Colin Trevorrow, who moved from Sundance favorite Safety Not Guaranteed to Jurassic World – women are generally employed for their experi-

ence, not their potential. Until this year, when Chloé Zhao of the indie feature The Rider will debut big time with The Eternals from Marvel Studios.

Cate Shortland has directed the forthcoming Black Widow, and Patty Jenkins – proving that female box-office money talks – will be back with Wonder Woman 1984.

Subscribe to diversity standards

Public film funders like the BFI have a flexible set of standards which encourage inclusion on and behind th screen, as well as access and audience development. The BFI is encouraging the main-

stream film industry to voluntarily adopt the standards by 2022. The “inclusion rider” suggested by Frances McDormand when she won her Three Billboards Oscar is similar, encouraging actors to insist cast and crew meet diversity standards.

hours a week, and 78% struggle with work-life balance.

Raising Films campaigns for better conditions for parents and careers in the workplace.

Long hours are not always better: the Coen brothers are famed for always stopping at a decent time on set.

Make productions parent-friendly The commitment and travel required in film production means many women disappear mid-career. A recent UK Film and TV Charity survey shows that mental health is at a low in the film industry, with 90% experiencing issues on the job, as one in eight crew members work more than 60

Cross the actor-director divide While the Clint Eastwoods of this world are equally confident behind and in front of the camera, women are only just starting to cross the directorial Rubicon. Of course, Ida Lupino and Barbra Streisand were early starters on this, and Greta Gerwig and Portman followed. Olivia

Wilde’s debut Booksmart just won a Spirit award, and Maggie Gyllenhaal is up next in the director’s chair.

Watch films by women Another no-brainer, but men failed to turn up at awards screenings of Gerwig’s Little Women. Wider audience support of a small film can lead to great rewards for the director on the next. In the UK, Birds’ Eye View runs Reclaim the Frame, which supports the screening and distribution of female-led films, often with audience events and debates around the country. Next up?

Perhaps Reclaim the Canon, rescuing great female-directed films from obscurity.

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FAS H Fran Fine, The Nanny

With her designer skirt suits, body-hugging dresses, and matching two-piece sets, Fran Fine not only became the most stylish nanny of all-time, but one of the most stylish characters to ever grace our televisions.

Cher Horowitz, Clueless With her computerized closet of plaid suits, platform shoes, mini skirts, and Calvin Klein dresses, Cher Horowtiz was not only the best dressed in her school, but one of the best dressed of the ‘90s.

Blanche Devereaux, The Golden Girls Age is truly nothing but a number, as demonstrated by sultry, fashion-forward Southern belle Blanche Devereaux on The Golden Girls. From flashy date-night looks to a collection of award-winning loungewear and silk robes, Blanche proves there’s no age limit on dressing sexy.

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ICO

HION Rachel Green, Friends

It’s no coincidence that the Friend who loved to shop the most was also the one with all the outfits you wanted to copy.

She may be best known for “The Rachel” haircut, but Jennifer Aniston’s character had a myriad of ‘90s outfits every woman wanted to wear.

Elvira Hancock, Scarface Elvira Hancock, Scarface Michelle Pfeiffer transformed into a 1970s fashion dream as Elvira Hancock. From perfect slip dresses to plunging necklines and that chic all-white suit, Hancock’s wardrobe stole the show in Scarface—and continues to inspire to this day.

Vivian Ward, Pretty Woman From that infamous cut-out dress and patent over-the-knee boots to her post-Rodeo Drive shopping spree looks (the polka dotted derby dress, red evening gown, etc), Vivian (Julia Roberts) was the fashion hero we never knew we needed.

ONS

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Buy Films Directed by Women Winter’s Bone Directed by Debra Granik $3.99

The Adventures of Prince Achmed Directed by Lotte Reiniger $4.50

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Wonder Woman

The Piano

Directed by Patty Jenkins

Directed by Jane Campion

$3.96

$3.99

Available at Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

A League of Their Own Directed by Penny Marshall $4.50

Booksmart Directed by Olivia Wilde $3.96

Lady Bird

Clueless

Directed by Greta Gerwig

Directed by Amy Heckerling

$5.00

$4.50

The Matrix

Fish Tank

Directed by Lana and Lily Wachowski

Directed by Andra Arnold

$4.50

Available at Amazon, Walmart, and Target.

$3.99

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Feminist Characters Fierce females! Whether a super power, inner strength or emotional muscles, women have been crushing roles on the big screen for decades. Over the years, fans have fallen for these bold feminist

roles who are role models to females around the world. Each of these characters have left a long lasting impression on many.

Celie (Color Purple) transcends her traumatic life in the rural South, finding friends, strength, and her own voice.

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Clarice Starling (The Silence of the Lambs) works through her fear, harnessing that nervous energy alongside her powerful intellect and dogged determination. She is a hero for every little girl who thought she wasn’t good enough.

Marge Gunderson (Fargo) is the smartest and most fearless person in the room, and she remains one of the Coen brothers’ most enduring characters.

Elizabeth Bennet (Pride and Prejudice) an intelligent, down-to-Earth, sometimes literally dirty, but uncompromisingly steadfast leading lady.

Elle Woods (Legally Blonde) has a potent combination of smarts and heart to shut down the naysayers who are foolish enough to judge her simply by her looks.

Jane Craig (Broadcast News) is the toughest, sharpest, most prepared woman in the newsroom at all times, but she isn’t afraid to cry to let it all out when the pressure gets too great.

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Scarlett Johansson: “The Spotlight Is Finally, Rightfully On Us”

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Scarlett Johansson took the opportunity at last night’s ELLE Women in Hollywood event to reflect on her career working alongside women filmmakers, from her breakout role in 2003’s Lost in Translation, directed by Sofia Coppola, to the upcoming Black Widow, helmed by Cate Shortland. “I feel spoiled because since early childhood, it always seemed possible to me that women could do every job in this industry, and had a place in this industry, because of what I had experienced,” she said.

The actress also disclosed that she just finished filming the Black Widow standalone film last week, and praised her director on the project. “Cate is one of the most brave and tireless crusaders I’ve ever had the great pleasure of collaborating with, and she reminded me every day that women just don’t have a choice,” Johansson said. “They are systemically made to feel lesser than, and must fight 10 times harder to have an opportunity to be heard and seen.”

“And it’s an incredible time to be a woman in film.”

The actress went on to share her pride in what the future holds for the industry. “It’s an incredible time to be a woman in film,” she said. “And there are opportunities and platforms today, in this industry, that we have never before had access to. And I’m incredibly proud of the strides we’ve taken these last few years, and continue to take, and the spotlight is finally, rightfully on us, and we made that happen as women. Together.”

“Thank you so much ELLE magazine and Nina Garcia for honoring me alongside all these incredibly powerful artists. And when I found out that I was joining this impressive group of honorees, I couldn’t help but think of all the courageous and strong-minded women that have helped me to make it to this stage tonight.

Twenty-seven years ago, I told my mom that I had a fire in my brain to act. Sounds absolutely terrifying coming from an eight-year-old, but anyway. I had three very close siblings, who were not in the industry. In fact, no one in my immediate family had any experience in the entertainment industry at all. And we grew up in a low-income housing development, and went to public school in New York City, and were on welfare intermittently, so there was a lot going on, and certainly there was no extra money for acting classes or headshots or anything like that. And so my mom did what any mom would do when her child continuously nags her to audition and spends every waking hour making up play scenarios for every doll and imaginary friend and family member: She enrolled me in the Lee Strasberg Theater Institute. And the burning passion for drama, and the commitment her young daughter had to work and learn and get better, was enough for my mom to scrape together what little extra there was to make my dreams possible.”

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Greta Gerwig Director of Little Woman

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How did you sell your idea to them in that meeting? What did you say?

It was so clear to me when I reread the book, this book is about women, ambition, money, and art. And it was about the intersection of those things.

How did you sell your idea to them in that meeting? What did you say?

I want to make a movie that focuses in on that, because to me, that’s what this book is about. And moreover, that’s what Louisa May Alcott liked, in fact.

I don’t think people liked Amy until they saw your version of her.

One of my experiences of reading the book was actually re-experiencing Amy as a profound character and equal to Jo, and someone that is a worthy opponent in some ways of Jo. And her lines in particular, some of them are lines that stood out to me as if they were written in neon.

As if they could have been said yesterday. It’s not a cute pursuit. It’s a completely egomaniacal pursuit in the best way. Or, “I don’t pretend to be wise, but I am observant.” You think, Holy sh*t, this girl sees everything.

Amy’s ‘women and marriage’ speech evolved from a conversation you had with Meryl Streep. What did you discuss with her?

Meryl Streep is obviously the queen of all things, but she’s also just so clear and intelligent about texts and filmmaking. They didn’t even own their children. They could leave a bad marriage, but they would leave with nothing, not even the kids.

You’ve also talked about the gender fluidity between Jo and Laurie, played by Timothée Chalamet.

Jo spends the entire book saying she wishes that she was a boy, and it’s all over the book. Almost every other page, she says she wishes she was a boy. I think there are lots of ways to read that.

So wouldn’t it be better to be a boy? But so much of Jo and Laurie—I read in an essay about Little Women, they said that the gender reversal is so striking, even in their names. Laurie is the boy with the girl’s name, and Jo is a girl with a boy’s name. And Laurie in many ways is more of a dandy or flâneur in that kind of 19th-century style of masculinity.

Did you always know you wanted those two in those roles?

Well, when I was writing I didn’t notice Saoirse yet, because I hadn’t made Lady Bird. So, Saoirse told me she was going to play Jo, essentially. She knew I’d been working on it, and she said, “I know you’re going to make Little Women, and I would like to play Jo. And I will.” And I

said, “Oh, well, good. Right.”

And then as soon as I knew it was her, then I knew it was Timothée. Casting is so strange. But once I said that out loud it was just so obvious that that was the correct thing to do.

The way you have everyone talking over each other feels like a musical number. It was orchestrated perfectly.

How did that idea germinate?

When I was writing it, I was directing it in my mind and I heard it at a very specific pace and I saw the camera moves in a very specific way while I was doing it. I wanted the camera to be like a dancer with these sisters, a partner to them to capture them.

We were very often on a dolly and a dance floor so that we had these precise choreographed moves with all those girls. But then it was that it could stop and just be static, like a painting and then continue to move. And I heard it, and felt it in this rhythm that was so thick.

How did you bring everyone together?

The rehearsal’s my favorite thing to do, because it’s the time that you get to really explore possibilities without the pressure of the clock running, and it allowed the sisters to become a sort of four-headed beast. It was so perfect that Amy waltzed in after the work was done.

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Female Idols in Film Jenny Lumet — Rachel Getting Married (2008) Written by Jenny Lumet — who was a drama teacher when she wrote the script — Rachel Getting Married tells a bittersweet story about family dysfunction, loss, grief, and forgiveness on a day celebrating love and live music. The irony of the family’s coming together and precedented falling apart is not lost on the viewer. She writes her characters with such depth that they are not always the most likable or even lovable people. The witty banter, honest conversations, and impulsive acts juxtaposed with the cinema verite style of the film make you feel like you’re a part of the wedding party. I still never cease to respond emotionally to every single viewing.

Dee Rees — Pariah (2011) I’ll never forget when a reporter at the Oscars asked writer and director Lena Waithe, “when will there be a lesbian Moonlight?” To which she replied, “There already is. Dee Rees’ Pariah.” And she was right. Yet, I think that Pariah on its own is unique without comparison. Pariah tells the story of a young Black lesbian teen exploring the intersections of her identities while confronting an intense world of religious, socioeconomic, and familial expectations. Dee Rees draws upon her own life to write the script. I think that is what makes the story so moving and authentic. Her heart was written into the story and her power spoke through Pariah’s character.

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Celine Sciamma — Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) Winning Best Screenplay at the Cannes only scratches the surface to highlight how incredibly beautiful this story is.

Simply put, it is a romance story between two women, a painter and her subject. But more deeply, this is a story about the gaze, passion, and a journey in falling in love with someone’s soul. It’s almost meta in its examination of a woman looking at a woman, looking at a woman. The writing is as poetic and intoxicating as the scenes. Set in France during the 18th century, it’s the slow burn of love and possibility that keeps the fire alive.

Wanuri Kahiu —From a Whisper (2008), co-writer for Rafiki (2018) Kahiu is a Kenyan filmmaker who is bringing African cinema into the limelight. Her film Rafiki was the first Kenyan film to be shown at the Cannes festival. Banned in Kenya for its “controversial” content, this film is defiant in its existence, yet convivial in its message and title. And this duality is what Kahiu focuses on in her compelling tale of queer love in a politically divisive place. She has received numerous nominations and awards for her films, of which if she has served as both director and screenwriter. Her films have examined feminism, Afrofuturism, politics, and national trauma. Kahiu is personal in her writing, often rendering full awareness of Western influence in her films.

Isabel Sandoval— Lingua Franca (2019) In this age of social media and technology, trans experiences are being told with expedience through various platforms, but it’s still our job to pay attention. Sandoval, as a Filipina filmmaker, is telling such intimate stories through a time of xenophobia and anti-trans rights and violence. Lingua Franca could very well be a true story. Sandoval stars in her film as an undocumented transwoman from the Philippines who has to make tough and ethically questionable decisions in order to stay in the U.S. Sandoval is emerging as a part of an important generation of filmmakers artfully telling stories that need to be heard.

Julie Dash — Daughters of the Dust (1991) One of the filmmakers coming out of the L.A. Rebellion, Julie Dash’s revolutionary film about the Gullah people in the coastal Southern United States, has aestethically inspired many artists, including Beyoncé’s Lemonade. The story is non-linear in its exploration of traditions, spirituality, and Black womanhood for the Peazant family. Dash’s story came from her own family’s Gullah ancestry. The film is an hauntingly poetic glimpse into their quotidian lives, with Dash’s deliberate unconventional storytelling structure. Dash also served as director of this film.

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Challenges In La When Edgar Wright set out to follow “Baby Driver” — the cars-and-crime themed 2017 movie that proved to be his biggest worldwide hit to date by a wide margin — he landed on a decidely different and darker tale in “Last Night in Soho.” Known for the madcap exuberance of “Shaun of the Dead” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World,” Wright has taken an unexpected turn into a moody and unnerving psychological horror thriller.

Blending the emotional intensity of 1960s British dramas with the color-saturated style of Italian giallos (and the films that inspired them), Wright aimed to capture something sinister lurking just beneath the central London neighborhoods where he lives and works.

“A lot of films of that period are about the darker side of Soho or of show business,” said Wright of the sub-strain of ’60s films that

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served as a core inspiration. “You still have to question where they’re coming from, because there’s a lot of them, which are more the sensationalistic ones, that take this kind of punitive approach to the female characters.

There’s a lot of movies where it seems that the genre is ’Girl comes to London to make it big and is roundly punished for her efforts.’

“And they’re all written by men and directed by men. And it seems like the old guard slapping down the liberated generation,” Wright said. “That was one of the many kernels of the idea that I thought, ‘This is an interesting genre.’ And what if you did a movie where you kind of subverted it to a modern perspective through a twin narrative of a contemporary girl coming to the big city too?”

Wright and his Oscar nominated co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns (“1917”) crafted the

ast Night In Soho

story of contemporary fashion student Eloise (Thomasin McKenzie), who also goes by Ellie, as she leaves behind small-town life for London. Lost and lonely, she soon finds herself wrapped up in the nighttime world of her dreams, where she has startlingly real visions of a young woman named Sandie (Anya-Taylor Joy) who was an aspiring singer in the 1960s in the same neighborhoods where Eloise now lives.

Initially captivated by Sandie’s glamour and promise, Eloise soon witnesses Sandie’s exploitation as she’s forced into prostitution under the guise of furthering her career.

Convinced that Sandie was murdered, Eloise becomes obsessed with solving the seeming decades-old cold case in the present day.

“The construction of the movie, where it’s a slow burn from something so alluring and glamorous to something very dark and disturbing, is absolutely intentional,” said Wright during a recent interview days before the

movie’s opening.

The film also touches on issues of mental illness, sexual violence, race and class in ways that are new for Wright. Ellie is described as having “a gift” that could be seen as either a paranormal psychic power or a sign of mental illness. In what Wright calls a “key scene,” Ellie ends up in a police station trying to explain herself and all she has seen and experienced.

Dismissed entirely by a male officer, she finds more sympathy from a female officer listening to a young woman who is obviously troubled, scared and lonely in her new life in the city.

The film ends on an ambiguous note, with the mystery of what happened to Sandie solved but new uncertainties emerging about Eloise’s future. And that‘s just how Wright and Wilson-Cairns wanted it.

“I’d like people to chew on it,” said Wright. “I like films that end on a bit of a question mark.”

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Equality in the

The number of women working in the film industry reached a historic high in 2019, but men still outnumber women four to one in key roles.

tographer, men continue to dominate.

“It’s odd to talk about reaching historic highs when women remain so far from parity,” said Martha Lauzen, the execuWomen made up 20% of behind-the-scenes tive director of the Center for the Study of roles on the top 100 domestic grossing Women in Television and Film. films of 2019, a sharp uptick from 16% in 2018, a study by the Center for the Study of The center has been running the annual Women in Television and Film at San Distudy, “Celluloid Ceiling”, since 1997. This ego University revealed. However, when it year, the review for the first time included comes to key jobs like director and cinema- numbers for oft-overlooked roles such as 18

e Film Industry composers, music supervisors and visual effects supervisors in addition to more prominent positions. The team found strongholds and troubling shortcomings. Women accounted for 43% of music supervisors on the top 500 films released in 2019 and 27% of producer roles, but only for 2% of cinematography roles on the top 100 films released.

strong contenders such as Greta Gerwig (Little Women), Lulu Wang (The Farewell), and Olivia Wilde (Booksmart). “We don’t vote by gender. We vote by film and accomplishment,” Lorenzo Soria, the president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, told Variety when pressed about the absence of women directors.

“I think it’s important to recognize that women’s underemployment extends far beyond directors, writers, producers, editors and cinematographers,” Lauzen said. “Inequality reaches into every facet and corner of the business.”

Prominent female actors are leading the charge in changing the status-quo. As part of the Time Up’s campaign, launched in 2017, Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, Tessa Thompson and others made public pledges to work with women directors. Since then, Kidman has starred in over five films directed by women and Lopez starred in the critically-acclaimed stripper drama, Hustlers, directed by Lorene Scarfia.

Lauzen believes it isn’t a coincidence that women fare worse in the traditionally male-identified roles. “When we think about what a director or cinematographer looks like, when we see those pictures inside our heads, typically they are of a white male.

We can’t discount the impact these subconscious images have on hiring decisions.

People tend to hire others who look like they do.”

“Celluloid Ceiling” comes on the eve of awards season, and amid growing concerns Hollywood award committees will not continue the upward trend of recognizing women in film this year.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association faced backlash when its nominations in the best director category did not include any women directors, in a year replete with

But Lauzen cautions that this year’s “Celluloid Ceilings” findings show it’s crucial not to become distracted by marquee female-led films and directors and assume the battle for gender parity is won.

“It’s easy to think things have improved dramatically when we see high-profile women such as Patty Jenkins and Marielle Heller directing films or when we hear that women are set to direct five superhero studio features in 2020,” Lauzen says. “A few high-profile cases can dramatically skew our perceptions of how women are faring. That’s why it’s so important to count the numbers of women working, so that we’re not acting on perceptions but on reality.”

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A Woman ’s Best Friend