My Brilliant Career

Australian Women

Some Significant Women In Australian Film - A Celebration And A Cautionary Tale by Jan Chapman
From Lottie Lyell to Jane Campion, Australia's pre-eminent producer Jan Chapman surveys the contribution of women to the history of Australian cinema.

Celebrating Kate Howarde by Ina Bertrand
Ina Bertrand profiles an important cinematic pioneer, the first woman to write, produce and co-direct an Australian feature film.

Interview with Leah Purcell by Rose Capp and Fiona A. Villella
Writer, actor, and now director Leah Purcell talks to the co-editors about life, politics, talking tough to Phil Noyce and her documentary Black Chicks Talking.

Barbara Steele in    Terror Creatures From the Grave

Barbara Loden and Wanda

For Wanda by Bérénice Reynaud
Interweaving interview and autobiographical material with wide-ranging analysis, this is a pioneering study of a woman who sought to find a room of her own.

Barbara Steele, desire and cinema

Barbara Steele's Ephemeral Skin: Feminism, Fetishism and Film by Patricia MacCormack
Led by the force and power of Barbara Steele's image, MacCormack steps beyond traditional feminist film theory to outline a new theory of desire and cinesexuality.

Interviews: Argento and Meszáros

Scarlet Diva

Asia Argento — Scarlet Diva by Alan Jones
The daughter of Italian horror is a writer, director and actor in her own right.

Ordinary Lives in Extraordinary Times — Marta Meszáros interviewed by Andrew James Horton
Long-time director Meszáros talks about filmmaking both during and post the Communist regime.

Baise-moi: Two Takes

Baise-moi — A Personal Angry-Yet-Feminist Reaction by Bérénice Reynaud Though supportive of the film during its fight with the censors, Bérénice's disapproval is here established as she uncovers the subtle ideological workings behind the film. Fresh Blood: Baise-moi by Maximilian Le Cain Drawing particular comparisons with Godard and Rivette, Max discusses the peculiar cinematic realism and energy of this contemporary cinema landmark.

Special Dossier: Zoë Lund

Zoë Lund (1962-1999), formerly Tamerlis, is an icon of the New York underground, best known for her participation in two Abel Ferrara classics: Ms .45 (1981), in which she stars, and Bad Lieutenant (1992), which she wrote and appeared in. Yet Zoë Lund's remarkable life as an artist and activist covers many extraordinary projects, and offers the embodiment of a radical philosophy. This final Special Dossier looks at Lund's writing (screenplays and essays), her involvement with political and experimental cinema, and the films with which she was variously involved throughout the '80s and '90s, including the short she directed, Hot Ticket (1993).

Zoë Lund in The Houseguest

Introduction: Reflections on Zoë Lund by Robert Lund The Ship with Eight Sails (and Fifty Black Cannons) by Zoë Lund “I Had To Do It In My Life As Well As In The Film”: An Interview with Zoë Lund by Nicole Brenez and Agathe Dreyfus Ms .45: Angel, Femme Fatale, Seamstress by Sophie Charlin     French     English Free Will and Testament (screenplay excerpt) by Zoë Lund

The Zoë Lund Cinematheque: short essays on six films on which Zoë Lund variously worked as actor, writer or director.

	Ms .45 by Ron Pettersson Special Effects by Adrian Martin The Houseguest by Sophie Charlin Exquisite Corpses by Brad Stevens Bad Lieutenant by Ron Pettersson Hot Ticket by Nicole Brenez
		Zoë Lund in a publicity still for Ms .45

Madame de...

Max Ophuls: A New Art - But Who Notices? by Tag Gallagher
Where cinema becomes music, entwining emotion and movement, Ophuls allows his female characters to hold centre stage.

Nina Menkes: Experimental

Secret Landscapes: A Conversation with Nina Menkes by Ray Privett
Menkes talks freely about her family past, entry into filmmaking, journey to Israel and recent films.

Crazy Bloody Female Center: The Cinema of Nina Menkes by Holly Willis
Precise and insightful discussion of the films of this intuitive, perceptive and innovative filmmaker.

Peggy and Fred in Hell: the Prologue

A Brief Overview of The Work of Leslie Thornton by Mary Ann Doane
Discussing certain Thornton films, Doane praises highly their richness and groundbreaking aesthetic.

The Retreat of Signs and the Failure of Words: Leslie Thornton's Adynata by Mary Ann Doane
Doane unravels the sensuality, intelligence and beauty of Adynata.

An Interview with Leslie Thornton by Irene Borger
Here Leslie talks insightfully about language, narrative, commodity culture and responses to her own films.

Yo, la peor de todas

Filmmaker profiles

Some girls are bigger than others: María Luisa Bemberg by Hugo Salas
Exploring ideas of difference and the Other: Salas charts the particular feminism of Bemberg's cinema and its final accomplishment.

Uncommon Visions — The Films of Loretta Todd by Jason Silverman
Rounded, fully apt overview of the life of a special and significant presence in Canadian cinema.

Border crossings: Ann Hui's cinema by Freda Freiberg
Freda praises highly the cinema of Ann Hui, in particular, her tender, lyrical Song of the Exile.

A World Ruled by Hilarity: Gender and Low Comedy in the Films of Amy Heckerling by Lesley Speed
Speed's critical analysis explores Heckerling's approach and unique contribution to the teen, comedy genre.

Maya Deren, Dance, and Gestural Encounters in Ritual in Transfigured Time by Erin Brannigan
Simultaneously rhythmic and avant-garde, Erin emphasises the importance of dance to Deren's cinema.

The Apple

Swiss Women

Exile, Identity, Cinéma des copines: Women Filmmakers in Switzerland by Suzanne Buchan
A critical analysis of the position of female filmmakers, past and present, in the small, historically male-dominated, Swiss national cinema.

Bad Girls Go To Hell

Sound, cinema and woman

I Scream In Silence: Sex, Death and the Sound of Women Dying (An excerpt) by Philip Brophy
Terror or joy: a critical exploration into sexploitation, gender and the 'scream' in cinema.

First Take

Let's Love Hong Kong by Bérénice Reynaud
An introduction to the first film made in Hong Kong directed by a woman about women in love with each other.

Female glamour and star power

The Zipper by Leonard Michaels with an introduction by Noel King
Meeting Rita Hayworth was a powerful, loaded moment for Michaels, and it's captured here in gorgeous literary style.

Gilda

Career Girl: Tribute to Katrin Cartlidge by Richard Armstrong Fitting tribute to the unique and talented British actress. Super Slick Power Chicks: The New Force or Elaborate Parody? by Angela Costi So who do young girls take as their role models? Angela discusses the results of a recent project on this very topic in addition to the recent book Girl Heroes. What's Sarong with this Picture? The Development of the Star Image of Dorothy Lamour by Ethan de Seife Ethan de Seife examines the role of Hollywood studios in producing the contrived exoticism of Dorothy Lamour's star persona. How Do You Solve a 'Problem' Like Maria von Poppins? by Peter Kemp Peter Kemp argues for a more sophisticated understanding of Julie Andrews' appeal through a discussion of her two most famous screen characters.

Book Review

The Girls in the Back Room: Looking at the Lesbian Bar by Kelly Hankin Book Review by Gaye Naismith

You can order this book directly from

The Beast at MUFF

Film Festivals

3^rd Annual Melbourne Underground Film Festival: A Report by Albert Fung

Inhaling a unique atmosphere - Central and East European film at the 37^th Karlovy Vary by Andrew James Horton

WOW International Film Festival - A Preview by Samantha Murray

Cinémathèque Annotations on Film

The following are annotations for films screening at the Melbourne Cinémathèque on Wednesdays during October and November.

Editorial
Click here for information on the editors of the annotations, the Melbourne Cinémathèque and queries regarding contribution.

The Gold Rush by Dan Harper
This film screens on Wed, September 25, 9:15 p.m.

Bi-Polar Gender-Blender: Sylvia Scarlett by Peter Kemp
This film screens on Wed, October 2, 7:00 p.m.

I Don't Want to be a Man! by Michael Koller
This film screens on Wed, October 2, 8:45 p.m.

He and She: Weimar Screwballwerk by Rick Thompson
Viktor und Viktoria screens on Wed, October 2, 9:30 p.m.

The Band Wagon

The Band Wagon by Joe McElhaney This film screens on Wed, October 9, 7:45 p.m. Wonder Bar by David Boxwell This film screens on Wed, October 9, 9:45 p.m. The Typewriter, The Rifle, and the Movie Camera by Peter Tonguette This film screens on Wed, October 23, 7:00 p.m. Merrill's Marauders by Kin Ferate This film screens on Wed, October 23, 8:00 p.m.

Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai

The Hidden Fortress by Jaime N. Christley This film screens on Wed, October 30, 7:00 p.m. Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai by Marco Lanzagorta This film screens on Wed, October 30, 9:30 p.m. The Life of Oharu by Acquarello This film screens on Wed, November 6, 7:00 p.m. Rebellion by Simon McLean This film screens on Wed, November 6, 9:25 p.m.