Forward to a friend
If you like a+E, pass it on!

 

 

In this Issue: Women Behind the Camera

This month we're taking a long look at new trends in film and video, as seen through the eyes of accomplished Minnesotan women working in a number of capacities in the motion picture industry. It turns out, these artists are increasingly relying on new media technologies to streamline the costs and equipment for their productions in ways that free them from the tyranny of the West Coast movie machine; and in so doing, these innovations allow them to make their films any place and on any topic they see fit.

• FEATURE: "Chick Flicks," Britt Aamodt talks to a slew of Minnesota women working in film about the innovations revolutionizing how we make (and see) movies
• MnArts Magazine highlights include: Ann Klefstad's review of the MCAD/McKnight Visual Arts Fellows exhibition, a round-up of Fringe Festival shorts by mnartists.org's performance critics, and a revival of the topical, moderated forums
• News You Can Use: a handpicked selection of artist opportunities from our daily-updated list of news postings on mnartists.org
• You Are Here: an assortment of festivals, workshops, theater, dance, music,  film, and gallery exhibitions going on around the state—all drawn from mnartists.org's DIY, member-driven arts calendar

PLUS: We've published a new batch flash fiction from the summer quarter's miniStories winners and there's FREE Mini-Golf in the offing for mnartists.org members on August 13

These days, accomplished film pros—many of them women—see no need to head for LA to make their way in the industry. Britt Aamodt talks to a slew of Minnesota women working in the business about the innovations revolutionizing how we make (and see) movies.

YOU MUST HAVE BEEN LIVING IN A REMOTE SIBERIAN village for the past two years if the name Diablo Cody doesn't ring a bell. But, then, maybe you're not good with names. So here's a refresher: Diablo Cody is the 30-year-old screenwriter who, at the 2008 Academy Awards, walked away with the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for Juno.

And here's the North Star connection: this Illinois native got her start writing for City Pages, and she was living in Minnesota when she penned the screenplay. Cody has since decamped from Minnesota to seek the A-list networking only Hollywood can provide—which makes you wonder if living in LA is a precondition to "making it" in the film industry. But before you lament the loss of another talent to the coasts, consider that Minnesota has a gazillion women working in film; and many of them, thank you very much, are quite happy to stay right here.

Why? According to the women interviewed for this article, they're sticking around for Minnesota's well-trained pool of producers, directors, cast, and crew, and for the seasoned infrastructure that's been developed to support them all—maybe not in caviar and Masaratis, but with enough tangible reward to keep the dream alive from project to project.

But you can't talk about women in film—or men—without discussing the biggest thing to hit the industry since sound in 1927. It's called the digital revolution, and it encompasses a bevy of innovations like the Internet, digital video (DV) cameras, wireless, and high-definition—which all add up to one humongous cost savings for the indie filmmaker. For starters, a camera that once cost $50,000 will now only set you back two grand. This means more films are being produced for less money and in a lot more places, including the Twin Cities and small-town Minnesota.

Women With Vision
Women's stories don't sell. At least that's what Hollywood thinks. Take a look at this year's crop of summer blockbusters: Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Wanted, and The Dark Knight Returns. What do they have in common, besides their comic book origins? A strong male lead and a story that, on the surface at least, plays primarily to a male audience. People concerned about the under-representation of women in film lament that the last great summer blockbuster targeted to women was 1997's Titanic. The movie made a killing at the box office, despite a "romantic" storyline that concluded with a sinking ship and the death of 1,523 passengers.

One thing you'll notice about Minnesota's women in film is that their conception of a chick flick bears no resemblance to Hollywood's. In fact, most of these filmmakers aren't even working in narrative film, opting instead to make documentary features and shorts, using their cameras to delve into real people and real stories....continue reading on mnartists.org

Click here to read Britt Aamodt's bird's-eye view of the trends shaping Minnesota's burgeoning indie film industry, the women who are carving there niche there, and where it all may lead next.

About the author: Britt Aamodt is a freelance writer living in Minneapolis. She loves the arts, meeting new people, and grocery shopping.

Credits: (Top left) Joanna Kohler used her connections at MNWIFT to put together Minnesota Motorcycle Stories, a collection of stories recorded during a motorcycle trip across Minnesota, summer 2008. (Photo courtesy of the artist.); (top right) Cristina Cordova, with Juan Antonio del Rosario, created the weekly web series Chasing Windmills, the first continuous narrative series created explicitly for the Internet. (Photo courtesy of the artist.); (middle left) Still from Bridget Riversmith's acclaimed animated 2007 short Birds at Night (Might Fall); (middle right) Documentarian Melody Gilbert taken during filming of Urban Explorers (courtesy of the artist); Photo of Britt Aamodt appears courtesy of the author.

You Are Here event listings are drawn entirely from the mnartists.org calendar, so if you want to improve the odds that you'll see your happening linked here, you'd better start posting your events!

We've made it super easy to begin: here's a step-by-step guide that'll show you how to promote your own events on the new arts calendar. Browse through more up-to-the-minute events listings or post a show of your own on mnartists.org's member-driven, DIY arts events calendar.

The mission of mnartists.org is to improve the lives of Minnesota artists and provide access to and engagement with Minnesota’s arts culture.