Janicza Bravo – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

SPOTLIGHT December 2021: Ari Wegner, Cinematographer, THE POWER OF THE DOG and ZOLA

November 27, 2021November 29, 2021 Karen Peterson ari wegner, australian cinematographer, Benedict Cumberbatch, florence pugh, jane campion, Janicza Bravo, jesse plemons, kirsten dunst, Kodi Smit-McPhee, lady macbeth, night shift, Riley Keough, spotlight, Taylour Paige, the power of the dog, The True History of the Kelly Gang, zola

While she won’t speculate on her own awards prospects, Ari Wegner recently told me how happy she is to see the way women are now being more welcomed in the field of cinematography. She hopes this will continue to increase as female DPs start to see the recognition that has eluded them for so long. She discusses both the art and science of filmmaking with such a degree of passion and poetry, that her love for the medium is contagious. She is a leader, a champion, and a gifted artist, giving the world not only beautiful images, but a sense of hope and fascination too.

Reviews

ZOLA – Review by Liz Braun

July 2, 2021July 4, 2021 Liz Braun a24, Janicza Bravo, Nicholas Braun, Riley Keough, Taylour Paige, zola

A stripper gets more than she bargained for in Zola, a bawdy road trip about sex work, female friendship and the messy world of men. This is ostensibly a comedy, but there’s a dark side to it all that makes Zola a real innocence-to-experience trip, most of that captured through the performance of Taylour Paige in the title role. To put the best possible light on things, it’s a great yarn about storytelling.

Reviews

ZOLA – Review by April Neale

June 22, 2021June 28, 2021 April Neale a24, Janicza Bravo, Nicholas Braun, Riley Keough, Taylour Paige, zola

Noir dramedies based on “real people” and “true events” always resonate deeper and more receptively with those who find the characters familiar, relatable, and through the magic of great scriptwriters and stellar acting, redeemable.

In Zola, writer and director Janicza Bravo gives us a female “almost buddy” film that goes horribly south, showing off the worst of a particular class of white people, black people, and skeevy characters in-between the lot. Nobody, save for Zola, is someone you would want to know, but they sure can be funny.

Festivals

Sundance 2020: Black Women Directors Prevail – Kathia Woods reports

February 3, 2020February 3, 2020 Kathia Woods 0 Comments Channing Godfrey Peoples, dee rees, ekwa msangi, female directors, Janicza Bravo, radha blank, sundance film festival 2020, women of color

Sundance Film Festival featured many films directed by black women. Each film had a different theme and inspiration. Each of the filmmakers had a different point of entry into filmmaking. Some went to film school others went out on a whim, but each brought a strong personal vision and compelling story to the screen, showing that the black experience is not monolithic, but very global. That’s the beauty of filmmaking.