The theme for #DFFF2018 is REFRAME/REFOCUS. Rather than foreground particular topics, our programme this year will feature films not only directed by women, but also shot by female cinematographers. In emphasising the role of the cinematographer, we aim to expand the notion of who ‘makes’ a film and what ‘Films by Women’ means, while also raising questions about whether and how films shot by women feature a different or other gaze.
Wednesday 21st November
Screen 3, Light House Cinema
6pm:
SHORTS PROGRAMME + FEATURE: PARKLANDS
View our 10 Finalists for this year’s Shorts Award. Winner announced after our feature Parklands.
Parklands
Director Kathryn Millard, DOP Mandy Walker, Australia, 1996 (51 mins)
Featuring Cate Blanchett in her first starring film role, Parklands focuses on a young woman Rosie’s investigation
into her dead father’s sordid past. Shot on 16mm, the film’s narrative focus on personal history and memory is
complemented by an expressive use of lighting and a complex colour scheme. This visual style was executed by
director of photographer, Mandy Walker, who won an Award of Distinction from the Australian Cinematographers
Society for her work on the film. By printing on reversal film and processing it as a negative, Walker helped Millard
to created the desired effect–of a film that looks like it’s been stored ‘in someone’s back shed for a number of
years’.
Feature followed by:
DFFF 2018 Shorts Award Winner Announcement
Presented by Filmmakers Megan K. Fox and Mia Mullarkey
Thursday 22nd November
Screen 3, Light House Cinema
6pm:
IRISH PREMIERE! THE SEEN AND UNSEEN
Director Kamila Andini, Cinematographer Anggi Frisca, Indonesia 2017 (1hr 23mins)
The Seen and Unseen, the second feature directed by Kamila Andini, is a follow-up to both her acclaimed debut,
The Mirror Never Lies, and her short film Following Diana, also shot by Anggi Frisca. An elliptical tale that deftly
interweaves realism with a theatrical mythology, it examines the trauma facing young Tantri as she and her family
nervously await a prognosis for her hospitalised twin brother, Tantra. Frisca’s camera imbues both natural
landscapes and drab interiors with a sense of slow-building wonder and mystery – she also manages to shoot some
of the darkest sequences you’re likely to see in contemporary cinema, which develop the film’s ethereal
metaphors in a way that transform Tantri’s loneliness and grief into something more intimate and profound.
In Balinese with English Subtitles
7.35pm:
XXY
Director Lucia Puenzo, Cinematographer Natasha Braier, Argentina 2007 (1hr 26mins)
A thoughtful examination of the life of an intersex teenager, XXY features an excellent cast, anchored by the fierce
performance of Inés Efron, and the playful, provocative cinematography of Natasha Braier. Alex (Efron) has been
raised as a girl – including taking hormone pills – by her loving, but somewhat confused parents. Now 15, she has
started to reject the binary definitions that have bound her thus far. Braier’s camera resists the voyeurism of many
of the villagers, while remaining refreshingly frank in the way it captures Alex’s growing understanding of her sex
and sexuality. Like its protagonist, XXY resists easy categorisation.
In Spanish with English Subtitles
9.15pm:
CAMERAPERSON
Director and Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson, US 2017 (1hr 42mins)
Cameraperson is Kirsten Johnson’s remarkable autobiographical documentary about her life and career as a
cinematographer. It brings together 20 years of Johnson’s personal and professional footage, weaving together
scenes from around the world that have left their mark on Johnson. From the title alone, which reminds us of the
gender-bias inherent in the more commonly used term “cameraman,” this unique project allows us to gain insights
into the under-represented figure of the female cinematographer.
Tickets: €11/€9
€13/€9 Combined Ticket for Shorts Programme + Feature Parklands (21st November)
Available NOW from: www.dublinfeministfilmfestival.com
