'Miss Representation'
Summary • That the media objectify the portrayal of women is no longer a new idea. "Miss Representation" establishes that idea through examples, then takes the camera into the trenches to interview teenage girls about the cultural messages they've received about how they will be judged by their sex appeal, not character or accomplishments. Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom argues that shortchanging the potential of one-half of society hurts women first and foremost, but also robs everyone of a brighter future.
Big names • The documentary features talking heads such as former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, actor Geena Davis, feminist icon Gloria Steinem and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi.
Filmmaker profile • With an MBA from Stanford University, Newsom has also acted in film and television. Wife to California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom, she operates Girl's Club Entertainment to produce films that expand the roles of female characters beyond traditional portrayals.
Conversations with young women prompted you to make this film, but what personal experiences also informed your decision?
Director Jennifer Siebel Newsom • Working overseas, I just assumed that overt sexism was a Third World phenomenon. Then I went back to business school at Stanford, where women comprised only 20 percent of my class. Then I went to work in Hollywood, where virtually all the protagonists are male characters and women have no agency or authority — or play the role of trophy wife. You realize that sexism in a developed country may be more subtle, but it's just as pervasive.
Do you believe the portrayal of women in media is better or worse than it was 10 years ago?
It's definitely worse now. Media is in more places than ever, all the time. And it's all about profit, profit, profit. I'm not against capitalism. I graduated from business school. I just believe capitalism needs an element of social responsibility to it.
What are some examples of problematic media portrayals?
You could cite examples of the way men are portrayed in contrast. There's a plethora of films with the male protagonist who can't get his life together. He can't hold a job [or] maintain relationships and he screws up wherever he goes. That male character is celebrated. But the belief in Hollywood is that women will see movies about men, but men won't see movies about women.
What do you hope people come away with after having seen your film?
Nothing less than to reawaken people to how the media dictates gender norms. As a mother myself, my foremost concern is for children. Whenever the Supreme Court decides a case under the First Amendment, children always fall under a class deserving of protection. But protecting children from the media is very difficult. That message is that the end-goal of young women is the preservation of youth and sex appeal in a lifelong search for love, while boys are meant to take control.
Ben Fulton
'!Women Art Revolution'
Summary • Director Lynn Hershman Leeson documents the overlooked history of the Feminist Art Movement from the 1960s to today. The influential movement politicized artists and helped women challenge the art world's inequalities based on gender, race, class and sexuality.
Big names • Considers significant artists such as Judy Chicago, Joyce Kozloff and The Guerrilla Girls; Carrie Brownstein, formerly of Sleater-Kinney, composed the original score.
Filmmaker profile • Hershman Leeson, a pioneering interactive media artist, began documenting the movement more than 40 years ago. Her artwork is included in numerous museum collections, and she is the chairwoman of the film department at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Why was this an important film to make?
Director Lynn Hershman Leeson • It was my responsibility. People were hungry for this information. [We went through] all those years of not being included in exhibitions and books. Lots of people were denying it ever happened.
What about RAW/WAR, the interactive New Frontier art exhibit that accompanies the documentary? Why did you choose to allow viewers to contribute?
It was a way to accommodate other people who had been left out, and [also designed to engage] the younger generation.
Producer Alexandra Chowaniec • RAW/WAR takes what was a personal perspective and opens it up to an international community. It creates an international dialogue and makes it accessible.
Why did you become involved in making this film?
Chowaniec • It was an opportunity to take my ideologies about women and the art world and put them into practice. What attracted me was that Lynn exploded the traditional constraints of film and [didn't] work within boundaries. It creates an awareness of a lineage of artists, [and it is not] hermetically sealed.
David Burger
'We Were Here'
Summary • A look back at the way AIDS affected San Francisco and how the gay community rallied to respond to the epidemic.
Big names • Daniel Goldstein, Paul Boneberg
Filmmaker profile • David Weissman and editor/co-director Bill Weber brought the documentary "The Cockettes," a film about San Francisco's outrageous performance art group, to Sundance in 2002, where it was nominated for the Grand Jury prize.
You've said that this was a movie you never thought you'd make. What changed your mind?
David Weissman • The idea was suggested to me by an ex-boyfriend who had heard me tell many stories about it. I felt like it needed to be done by someone who did live through the whole period there, who really loved San Francisco, and who would be able to bring a kind of depth and sensitivity to the project.
Faced with a challenge like AIDS, were you surprised to see the gay community rally together?
Not everybody rallied. There are thousands of people here who feel guilty that they didn't do enough. There was a lot of fighting. There was a lot of disagreement and a lot of resistance. So it was not an easy path.
What would you say to those people?
I hope that the film also comforts [them]. Both because it acknowledges how overwhelming it was, how difficult it was and how young we were but also, you know, that it is never too late. You can always do good things.
What would you identify as the central theme of the film?
You want to end up your life feeling like you've contributed in a positive way. I think it's a film about that in a lot of ways.
Ryan Michael Painter
'How to Die in Oregon'
Summary • Portland director Peter D. Richardson filmed 16 terminally ill people as they were considering ending their lives under Oregon's first-in-the-nation Death with Dignity euthanasia law. Since the 1994 law was passed, more than 500 Oregonians have used it to end their lives, including Roger Sagner, the 343rd, whose peaceful suicide opens the film. The documentary concludes with another beautifully lit death scene, but along the way, in compassionate, everyday intimate conversations, Richardson explores complicated questions about dying — and living.
Filmmaker profile • The 31-year-old Oregon native studied film theory and production at the University of Notre Dame. His first documentary, "Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath," played at Sundance in 2006; his second and latest film is screening in the U.S. Documentary competition and will be aired on HBO in the fall.
Bold choice to open your film with a death scene. Why?
Not for shock value, but really to disarm the scene. Ending with it seemed like it would be manipulative. I wanted to announce at the beginning: "This is going to be a film about dying" and address the elephant in the room.
What did you learn about living while making a film about death?
When you're near the end of your life, when you're given a terminal prognosis, it has a clarifying presence. You learn what's important, and everything else falls away.
Technically, how did you choose to narrow down such a huge subject?
I did a lot of filming over four years, a very, very high shooting ratio, but the filming that I did with these individuals was very unpredictable, as they had no way of knowing how long they would live. I filmed the longest, 10 months, with Cody Curtis, who was unique [in considering using the law] because she was so young, 53 when I started filming. She was an incredible presence. Her husband said the last year of her life was the best year of their marriage.
What do you hope viewers take away from the film?
They're going to have a completely new understanding about what the law is. Also, hopefully people will have a little bit of the experience that I had: Learning these clear lessons about what life is, and what a good death can look like. I hope it starts a general conversation about death and dying and the need to talk about it more.
Ellen Fagg Weist —
'Miss Representation' screenings
Saturday, Jan. 22, noon • Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City
Tuesday, Jan. 25, 9 a.m. • Temple Theatre, Park City
Wednesday, Jan. 26, 3:45 p.m. • Broadway Centre Cinema V
Thursday, Jan. 27, noon • Holiday Village Cinema IV, Park City
Saturday, Jan. 29, 2:30 p.m. • Prospector Square Theatre, Park City
'!Women Art Revolution' screenings
Monday, Jan. 24, 3 p.m. • Redstone Cinema 8, Park City
Tuesday, Jan. 25, 6 p.m. • Broadway Centre Cinema VI, Salt Lake City
Thursday, Jan. 27, 5:30 p.m. • Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
Friday, Jan. 28, 12:30 p.m. • Holiday Village Cinema II, Park City
Saturday, Jan. 29, midnight • Broadway Centre Cinema VI, Salt Lake City
'We Were Here' screenings
Sunday, Jan. 23, 3:45 p.m. • Broadway Centre Cinema V, Salt Lake City
Monday, Jan. 24, 9 p.m. • Temple Theatre, Park City
Wednesday, Jan. 26, 3 p.m. • Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City
Friday, Jan. 28, 8:30 a.m. • Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
'How to Die in Oregon' screenings
Sunday, Jan. 23, noon • Temple Theatre, Park City
Tuesday, Jan. 25, 9 p.m. • Yarrow Hotel Theatre, Park City
Wednesday, Jan. 26, 3 p.m. • Broadway Centre Cinema, Salt Lake City
Thursday, Jan. 27, 8:30 a.m. • Prospector Square Theatre, Park City
Friday, Jan. 28, 5:30 p.m. • Holiday Village Cinema III, Park City
