Review of Reel Dames 2008 Film Festival: Work!

Aimée van Drimmelen

Well, some serious ‘grats are in order for Reel Dames 2008 organizers Aimée van Drimmelen and Hosay Breau; this year featured an array of accesible, oft enchanting, oft wunder-ful films from a plethora of walks and visions. And an additional ‘grats to Hosay who missed the evening due to the arrival of her “work in progress” featured in the Reel Dames trailer here.

A total of 15 films were screened and while I’m not sure how all of them followed the theme set by the fest this year (Work!; hell, most got it), all sparked discussion either during the intermission or after the end of the show. One thing is certain about any festival that dares to be as accesible as possible; there will be some elements you like, some that leave you guessing, some that spark intense disagreements, some you will love and some…. dare I say you will intensely dislike?

I won’t go into detail on that last point, save to say that the word ‘experimental’ is quickly becoming a word of warning in my book. Somewhere out there there is a joke about experimental aircraft pilots being the most likely to die on the job and how that relates to experimental artists… but I said I wasn’t going there.

Here are some of my favorite moments:

1) Dayna Gedney and Daniel Schachter’s “It’s A Living” featured music by David MacLeod. This film started the night off strong and left me wanting to hunt down more of David’s music. The artist making a living is a theme we can all relate to and had some of the biggest heart of the evening.

2) Lysanne Thibodeau’s “Ikaluktuutiaq in April” featured Inuk thorat singer, Tanya Tagaq . Tanya’s strange vocal creations stirred some awkward laughter from audience members until the subject herself burst out in laughter with an on-screen friend while trying to teach her her craft. And we all made our connection. And wonder followed.

3) Marie-Christine Lance and Julie Médam’s “L’appel” & Laura Perlmutter’s “Palascinta”; these two pieces ran concurrently. The juxtaposition of a relative piecing together her aunt’s life through soothing poetic questions and the immediacy of the questions posed to Laura’s grandmother, Olga, as she prepared beloved palascinta were a perfect balance. Palascinta’s direct approach conveyed a tangible love of family through food and the work put into it while the soothing French voice-over of “L’appel” sought a revelation in the choices made by an enigmatic family member… Two different approaches, both intensely memorable results.

4) Anna Sarkissian’s “Still Lives”; what is sure to be one of the most resounding moments in our lives (I hope!) from thousands of miles away is brought to immediate focus so long after the events of the Katrina flood in this piece. There are no sobbing newscasters here, no reeling rescue workers… This is truly the after-after math of New Orleans and it doesn’t look good for the future. Bravo, Anna, for reminding us that the work isn’t anywhere near done. And that “never forget” isn’t just something you print on a t-shirt; it’s promoting vigilance in those around us in our efforts to help out our fellow man. Especially when it seems everyone has moved on… You made me cry.

For more info about the next Reel Dames fest, I encourage you to visit:
www.realisatrices-equitables.org and www.myspace.com/reeldames

And now for some more photos…