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Local Women at Seattle International Film Festival by Cheryl Murfin

Betty is a pill-spitting, doctor-mocking, lip-smacking woman locked up in a mental institution. And in the brief time we spend with her in Seattle director Heather Ayres’ 14-minute short film of the same name, we get an honest and mighty uncomfortable look at the confusion, isolation and internal fight for sanity that is the common experience of those struggling with mental illness.

And that is just what Ayres hopes for us.

“There are a lot of beautiful filmmakers making films about mental illness. My vision for Betty is to share a story of this one woman…the confusion, the beauty, the pain, the isolation, the chase for freedom within one’s self. It’s not a film to find answers or comfort,” the director said in a recent profile published on the website Women in Film–Seattle (www.womeninfilm-seattle.org).

Betty, which received significant local support during its two-year production, including the IFP/Seattle Spotlight Award, a CityArtists project grant, and a 4Culture Special Projects Award, had its world premiere in late May as the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) kicked into full throttle.

SIFF is the largest, most well-attended film festival in the nation and will screen 405 films representing 67 countries in theaters across the city through June 13. In an industry dominated by male directors, it is probably not surprising that only about 20 percent of these films are by women directors. Northwest women filmmakers, however, are doing better, with 10 of the 32 Northwest films in the festival made by women.

Some of these films, like Betty, were screened earlier in the festival, but there is still time to check out the work of several Seattle-area women filmmakers. See below for details. For full festival information, go online to www.siff.net.

FEATURE-LENGTH FILMS

Perfect 10
Directed by Lindy and Kris Boustedt
www.perfect10themovie.com
Monday, June 7, 9:15 p.m. at SIFF Cinema
Tuesday, June 8, 4:00 p.m. at SIFF Cinema
SIFF will host the world premiere of this comedy by local directors Lindy and Kris Boustedt on June 7. Called “semi-autobiographical” by its directors, Perfect 10 is the story of Mara Andersson, a woman who has recently slimmed down, owns her own successful business and is married to a wonderful guy. In short, Mara’s got a good life. A former classmate talks her into attending their 10-year high school reunion and Mara learns that her first love will be in attendance. Thus begins a story of throwing common sense to the wind. For anyone who has tasted the nostalgia and fear of a class reunion, this off-beat dramatic comedy is a must-see.

Ginny Ruffner — A Not So Still Life
Directed by Karen Stanton
www.karenstanton.com
Tuesday, June 8, 8:00 p.m. at Majestic Bay Cinemas
Friday, June 11, 7:00 p.m. at SIFF Cinema
Saturday, June 12, 3:00 p.m. at Kirkland Performance Center
Director Karen Stanton’s debut feature film is designed to draw viewers into Ruffner’s exotic and art-soaked world and to tell her fascinating and inspiring life story — a tale of her achievement, sudden heartbreak and amazing courage in living with the aftermath of a near-fatal car accident.

“I have always been drawn to powerful female characters,” says Stanton, who has produced thousands of commercials and other films through her Seattle-based production company. “I love to work with real people and guide them to an on-camera comfort level that allows them to tell their stories in natural, credible and emotionally satisfying ways. This film takes that work to an entirely different level.”

Wheedle’s Groove
Directed by Jennifer Maas
www.wheedlesgroovemovie.com
Friday, May 28, 4:30 p.m. at Everett Performing Arts Center
Sunday, May 30, 9:30 p.m. at SIFF Cinema
Local director Jennifer Maas’s new documentary film Wheedle’s Groove offers viewers an original and well-executed exploration of a part of Seattle music history that is often overshadowed by the notoriety of the grunge movement that came twenty years later.
Maas’ film takes a look at Seattle’s 1960s soul music scene, when groups like Black on White Affair, The Soul Swingers and Cold, Bold & Together filled the airwaves and packed clubs every night of the week. The film does a superb job of uncovering the heart of Seattle’s soul movement, which pretty much got sucked out of the city by the disco craze. Wheedle’s Groove highlights the August 2004 reunion event that brought Seattle soul musicians (many now janitors, graphic designers and truck drivers) back together for one last romp. The look-back on derailed music careers and preparation for their reunion performance (some performing again for the first time in 30 years) is both memorable and moving.

SHORT FILMS

SIFF screens its short films early in the festival, which opened on May 20. All of the films listed below were presented prior to our publication date with the exception of Cruising the Urban Inferno from the 4th Floor, which is part of the “Alternative Wave” program on May 26. For details, visit www.siff.net.

Betty
Directed by Heather Ayres
For more information about future viewings of Heather Ayre’s short film Betty, go to www.bettythemovie.com.

Free
Directed by Angelica Macklin
The world premiere of Angelica Macklin’s 1-minute animation was part of the Animation for Adults film package that screened in late May.

Cruising the Urban Inferno from the 4th Floor
Directed by Bridget Irish
In this 4-minute short, visual artist and filmmaker Bridget Irish, who hails from Olympia, offers a string of images of life outside a Vancouver, British Columbia, hotel window. For more on this filmmaker, go online to http://filmanddestroy.org/IrishIntro2010.htm.

I Saw U
Directed by Maile Martinez
Maile Martinez’s 9-minute piece was inspired by her writing an “I Saw U” ad for The Stranger about a barista she thought was cute. Two years later she explores the world of sex, lies and classifieds in this short comedy. Martinez is program manager at Seattle-based Reel Grrls, a nonprofit dedicated to supporting and nurturing young women filmmakers. For more on the film or filmmaker go to www.imdb.com/title/tt1631340 or www.reelgrrls.org.

Kings
Directed by Barbara Mones
Barbara Mones, University of Washington professor in the Department of Computer Science & Engineering and Creative Director of Digital Animation, presents the university’s 2008 Animation Capstone film.

Nothing to Fear but Nothing Itself
Directed by Salise Hughes
Visual artist Salise Hughes creates her own unique process of digitally erasing and layering areas of old film images. Recycling is a major theme of her work as she tears apart existing 16 mm educational and Hollywood genre films and rebuilds them into films with new meaning. You can find more information about this filmmaker at www.vimeo.com/user1421998.

Unreserved: The Work of Louie Gong
Directed by Tracy Rector
Tracy Rector’s documentary is an intimate profile of Pacific Northwest Native American artist and activist Louie Gong. In March 2009, Gong began merging Coast Salish art with pop culture icon Vans Shoes to create custom skate shoes that represent the complexities of a multiracial cultural identity. Rector is the executive director and cofounder of Longhouse Media and its youth media project Native Lens, a partnership with the Swinomish Indian Tribal Community. For more information about the film, visit www.dnvjostudio.com/client/LHM/test/media.html.

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