The Screen: Funny Girl!
The Screen at Contemporary presents its winter 2018 film season, Funny Girl. This season we explore outspoken, quietly rebellious, sometimes nasty and subversive female characters.
Lady Macbeth (2016)
Dir. William Oldroyd
A young woman is married off to a stranger in 19th century Northern England. She begins to rebel against her confinement, engaging in pleasure, an affair and even murder. Oldroyd’s film sheds the usual conventions of period films to bring something both physiologically tense, gothic, bare, visceral and profound. Morally ambiguous characters and complex themes of nature, the body, soul and free will make this an exquisite and haunting experience.
In collaboration with Reel Equality Film Club and Joined by a post film discussion led by film writer Christina Newland and guests.
A Fantastic Woman (2017)
Dir. Sebastián Lelio, 2017
A transwoman’s older partner suddenly dies, throwing her life into disarray. Whilst in mourning she is treated with suspicion by the authorities and is viciously disregarded by his family. Winner of this year’s Best Foreign Film Oscars, it captures the everyday petty indignities often imposed on transwomen and resilience and courage that it takes to wade through the chaos.
The Craft
Dir. Andrew Fleming, 1996
New girl Sarah starts anew at Catholic school and teams up with three outsiders to form a witch’s coven. Twenty years after its release, this now classic 90s treat inspired a generation of girls to pick up a spell book and put two black painted fingers up to convention. Both fun and spooky, the film’s cult following speaks volumes on the thirst for the portrayal of rebel girls.
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane (1962)
Dir. Robert Aldrich
Baby Jane is a former child star who was once overshadowed by her younger sister. Years later they now live in a decrepit Hollywood mansion where bitterness and rotting resentments have festered. This cult classic is made ever more infamous by Davies & Crawford’s off-screen feud. This is part horror, part Hollywood parable and, in today’s context, a dark exploration of mythologising female youth.
Watermelon Woman (1996)
Dir. Cheryl Dunyn
The Screen at Contemporary presents its winter 2018 film season, Funny Girl. This season we explore outspoken, quietly rebellious, sometimes nasty and subversive female characters.
A video store clerk begins making a film about an actress from the 1930s who played the stereotypical “mammy” roles. Questions of race, representation, and same sex relationships are as fresh, intriguing and relevant today as they were on its release in the 1990s. Written, staring and directing Icon of the New Queer Cinema Cheryl Duyne. This screening will be introduced by Assistant Curator Cedriq Fauq on the allegory of the watermelon in African American narrative.
American Honey (2016)
Dir. Andrea Arnold
The Screen at Contemporary presents its winter 2018 film season, Funny Girl. This season we explore outspoken, quietly rebellious, sometimes nasty and subversive female characters.
A rudderless teenager’s life changes when she joins a band of outsiders selling magazine subscriptions. American Honey navigates between the stark realism of poverty and economic alienation, and a hypnotic circus road movie. From one of Britain’s most interesting filmmakers, this film is a parable of modern-day America, painting vivid characters that linger long after the credits have scrolled.
All That Heaven Allows
Dir. Douglas Sirk, 1955
The Screen at Contemporary presents its winter 2018 film season, Funny Girl. This season we explore outspoken, quietly rebellious, sometimes nasty and subversive female characters. Join us for this Christmas Special.
An upper-class widow falls for her gardener in mid-fifties suburbia. Discounted as a film for women in its era, Sirk’s films are now celebrated as a teller of subtlety subversive women that quietly disrupt and disobey. Sirk signature sumptuous Technicolor rendering of this era is Hollywood melodrama at its finest.
His Girl Friday (1940)
Dir. Howard Hawkes
Two journalists who were previously married are on the hunt for the ultimate scoop. Fast-paced, witty and sassy retorts are what makes this one of the best screwball comedies ever made. The cinema of 1930s and 40s often offered more interesting female roles particularly in comedy. Despite being a little dated, it’s funny so savour and enjoy!
Mustang (2015)
Dir. Deniz Gamze Ergüven
Five orphaned sisters in rural Turkey are caught playing with some local boys. They become imprisoned in their home by their conservative guardians, when plans of impeding arranged marriages are made. Told through a melancholic and dream like lens the fear of the female sexuality and the justifications used to supress it are examined with intelligence and nuance that’s beguiling and powerful.