Coming to her senses
6 WOMAN 6 SENSES 6 FILMS
A little over a year ago six women filmmakers met in producer Mary Daniel’s kitchen. Each drew a sense from a hat, was given a single roll of film stock, handed a list of film production equipment to which she would have free (but very limited) access, and was asked to return in a year’s time with a 3 minute film exploring (through her ‘sense’) the theme ‘sensuality’. Their finished films were later merged together to form one 24 minute show — coming to her senses.
The filmmakers involved were chosen for their woman-centered approaches to image-making, their highly distinctive styles, and for the strength of their filmic ingenuity.
“ I left it up to each filmmaker whether or not to include sex in her interpretation of the theme. I had been seeing a lot of films that dealt with sexuality or eroticism that left my senses blunted instead of aroused. I wanted to put a film out there that explored a whole range of sensual experiences, and included some very subtle expressions of eroticism.” - Mary Daniel
Film stock and lab services were provided by the Pacific Centre of the National Film Board. Cineworks made the free equipment available, covered the remaining costs, and acted as executive producer.
coming to her senses is the third in a series of omnibus productions all based on the same low-budget, high-concept creative challenge: assemble a group of Vancouver's best independent filmmakers, give each a single roll of film stock and bare - bones equipment, and ask them to return with a 3 minute film on a pre-determined theme.
Explains Mary Daniel, “As an independent I spend so much of my time trying to raise money for my films that I forget what it feels like to actually make the damn things. Getting my hands on a little bit of film and my eye behind a camera is like waking up to a warm sunny day in the middle of a long Vancouver winter.”
Narcissus (sight)
by Ileana Pietrobruno
It is a shimmering metaphorical look at self-love at first sight.
Ileana Pietrobuno’s short drama Sisters of Gion (1989), won the Canadian Student Film Festival Award for Best Experimental Film. Her 45 min. short dramaChilliwack Princess, (1990), played at festivals in Europe and the U.S. She recently completed her stunning and provocative first feature, Cat Swallows Parakeet Speaks, which showed to sold-out crowds on its premiere run.
Tiny Bubbles (touch)
by Bo Myers
It is a tenderly sketches portraits of love amongst family, friends and lovers.
Bo Myers is a graduate of McGill University’s History and Political Philosophy department, and of the Film and Video program at Emily Carr College of Art & Design. Her first short filmThe Indelible Print (1990), screened in Montreal, Vancouver, and Mexico. In1996 she began her Sketchbook Series with the dance film Picture @ Platform, featuring Vancouver's Frozen Eye Dance Company. Tiny Bubbles forms the second installment in the series.
The Pickup (smell)
by Seanna McPherson
It is a dyke road movie featuring a little green truck, some beautiful butches, and the scent of unzipped leather.
Since graduating from the film program at Simon Fraser University, Seanna has been working her buns off in the trenches of ‘the industry’, and taking-on a number of production roles for independent filmmakers. She now has a reputation for being one of the best assistant directors in town. The Pickup marks her (non-student) debut as a director.
This Missing You (taste)
by Mary Daniel
It is a deliciously romantic, delightfully witty journey through the bitter-sweet taste of long-distance love.
Mary Daniel's short drama (Missing Persons, 1987), two experimental films (Tracks, 1988; Discrete Moments, 1994), and feature-length experimental drama Connecting Lines. have played at several film festivals and to critical success internationally. She was also associate producer/ writer for the social-issue documentary The Legacy of Malthus ,which was aired on the BBC and in over 50 countries). Most recently she was co-writer for Through the Lens, a six-part series on the history and practice of alternative filmmaking in western Canada.
Angustia (hearing)
by Claudia Morgado Escanilla
It takes a long lingering peep at a woman seducing herself with caresses of poetry and music.
Claudia Morgado graduated with an outstanding achievement award from the Film Program at Concordia University. Her first film Oda a las Chilotas won the Canadian Student Film Festival Award for Best Documentary in 1990. Her subsequent films The Pleasure of Silence and Spit it Out received an Honorable Mention and a Bronze Award at the Festival of Nations in Austria. Her 1995 film Unbound, a docudrama about how 15 women feel about their breasts, won the Best Gay Film Award at the 1996 Berlin Film Festival.
Bright and Dark (the 6th sense)
by Ellie Epp
It is an abstract exploration of the chemistry dancing inside us like light in sealed dark places.
Ellie Epp has been exploring the processes of human perception through film for over 20 years. Her 1976 film Trapline , has been cited as an influence by many independent filmmakers, and is considered a classic of experimental film. She went on to make Current in 1985 , followed by Notes in Origin in 1987, and has continued her on-going work toward a cognitive aesthetic of experimental film and scientific visualization.