Page 30 - ARUBA TODAY

A30 PEOPLE & ARTS
Wednesday 25 July 2018
A new film series asks: Is there a 'female gaze' in movies?

By JAKE COYLE "What I've come to under-
Associated Press stand is that the subjectiv-
NEW YORK (AP) — An up- ity of seeing is incredibly
coming film series at Lin- acute," says Johnson. "It is
coln Center asks a provoc- connected to all the things
ative question: Is there such that each of us are. Each
a thing as a "female gaze" of us has so many identities
in movies? but some of our identities
The perspective by which are visible to others."
women are often seen, The film's title was partly a
sexualized and objecti- wry joke. Johnson has been
fied by men — conscious- called a "cameraman" just
ly or not — in Hollywood about every day on her life
films is known as the "male on set. For her, the word
gaze," a term Laura Mulvey "gaze" isn't quite right, ei-
coined in a famous 1975 ther. It suggests seeing with
essay. Movies, where men pleasure, "which I love," she
are so often behind the says, "but the primary word
camera, inevitably render I feel when I'm filming is
women a certain way. 'searching.'"
Beginning Friday, "The Fe- Almozini considers the se-
male Gaze" will flip the ries an "open question,"
question around with a This image released by Netflix shows Rachel Morrison on the set of the film "Mudbound." that will be especially illumi-
two-week survey featuring Associated Press nating when several of the
36 films shot by 23 female cinematographers gather
cinematographers. The mer for the Film Society at sary of the American Soci- "Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai for a staged conversation.
first-of-its-kind series prom- Lincoln Center who assem- ety of Cinematographers. du Commerce, 1080 Brux- "They all have a different
ises to be among the most bled the series along with Founded in 1919, the soci- elles," shot by Babette opinion," says Almozini. She
conversation-starting film Tyler Wilson and Madeline ety didn't invite a woman Mangolte) and new arrivals points to a film like "In the
retrospectives in recent Whittle. "When you watch to join until 1980, when it (the upcoming "The Mised- City of Silvia" as an espe-
memory, throwing a big a movie, would you know admitted Brianne Murphy. ucation of Cameron Post," cially confounding exam-
film theory question into who's shooting it? Would But there are signs of shot by Ashley Connor). ple. The 2007 film by José
a movie industry churning you recognize a male gaze change. Earlier this year, There are movies direct- Luis Guerín — "a very male
with gender issues. versus a female gaze?" "Mudbound" director of ed by men and women, gaze movie," says Almozini
"I wanted to see if there's a "The Female Gaze" was photography Rachel Mor- American films and inter- — is about a man search-
difference," said Florence partly prompted by the rison became the first national ones, blockbusters ing Strasbourg, France, for
Almozini, a senior program- upcoming 100th anniver- woman ever Oscar nomi- ("Creed," shot by Maryse a woman he had only the
nated for cinematography. Alberti) and indies ("Eter- briefest of encounters with
"It's a job that basically is nal Sunshine of the Spotless years before.
combining empathy with Mind," shot by Ellen Kuras). It was shot by Natasha Brai-
channeling emotion into vi- The perspectives and im- er, a 43-year-old Buenos
sual imagery. It's everything agery vary vastly. If there is Aires native who attend-
women do well," Morrison, a "female gaze" at all, it is ed film school in the U.K.
who has since shot "Black myriad and infinite. and who considers herself
Panther," said at the time. "One of the joys of this se- a "global gypsy." Braier,
"I could never quite un- ries is to realize how many whose credits include Nico-
derstand why there aren't women have been work- las Winding Refn's "Neon
more of us." ing, how many women Demon" and Sebastian Le-
Yet female cinematogra- have shot footage that lio's upcoming "Gloria," has
phers remain a tiny minority I've loved," says Kirsten mixed feelings about being
in Hollywood. An estimated Johnson, a veteran docu- assembled by gender.
four percent of cinema- mentary cinematographer "I'm not really a believer
tography society members whose acclaimed 2016 of the gender celebration
are women. San Diego mosaic "Cameraperson" is thing and the women cin-
State University researchers part of the series. "To make ematographer thing," says
found that in the top 100 that explicit at this point in Braier. "I've been asked
grossing films in 2017, two time feels really useful." all these questions about
were shot by women. That Like many, if not all the being a female DP for 20
percentage has remained cinematographers in the years now and it never re-
roughly the same for the series, Johnson has long ally made a lot of sense to
last 25 years. resisted being defined by me because I believe that
The Lincoln Center series, her gender. She was too every artist is individual with
though, shows the expan- focused on her subjects their own individual gaze.
sive, essential work of a and on serving the visions "But I do understand the
wide variety of female cin- of directors. Only when global situation right now,"
ematographers. There are making "Cameraperson," she adds. "It's a great time
acknowledged masters which fused footages from to celebrate, in my point of
(Agnes Godard, French her non-fiction travels with view, not the female gaze
filmmaker Claire Denis' home video, did Johnson but all these different gazes
longtime director of pho- start to see how present she by a lot of cinematogra-
tography), feminist land- was in the footage she's phers who happen to be
marks (Chantal Akerman's shot. women."q