Raven Jackson – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT (Melbourne IFF 2024) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

August 20, 2024August 19, 2024 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Melbourne IFF 2024, Raven Jackson

All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is a film that holds the notion of intimacy in a way that almost feels sacred, each scene calmly demanding a kind of reverence and respect for not merely the stories of those the film so lovingly shares, but the power of cinema itself to spark such precious moments of shared experience. The brainchild of writer/director Raven Jackson, All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is very much a drama of touch. Long, lingering, effortless shots of hands and fingers dominate the film; much more than verbal language, this is a film whose drama emphatically and fundamentally plays out through the dynamics of touch – both touching, and being touched.

Festivals Interviews

RAVEN JACKSON on ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT – Nadine Whitney interviews

August 20, 2024August 27, 2024 Nadine Whitney All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Melbourne IFF 2024, Raven Jackson

Poet, photographer, and filmmaker Raven Jackson’s debut feature All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is the story of the life of Mack from childhood to later life. Jackson’s tender mosaic of childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older age is impressionistic and non-linear. Specific and universal – All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is rich and nourishing. Raven Jackson spoke about her first narrative feature film with Nadine Whitney at Melbourne International Film Festival 2024.

Festivals

Sundance Institute’s 2024 Momentum Fellowship Recipients – Jennifer Merin reports

February 22, 2024August 23, 2024 Jennifer Merin A.V. Rockwell, Aitch Alberto, D. Smith, Erica Tremblay, Laura Moss, Momentum Fellowship, Raven Jackson, Savanah Leaf, Sing J. Lee, sundance, sundance institute

Sundance Institute has announced eight storytellers selected for the 2024 Momentum Fellowship. Now in its sixth year, Momentum continues its mission of fostering professional growth for mid-career artists, emphasizing professional development opportunities during a critical juncture in their creative journey. The fellowship specifically targets mid-career artists hailing from historically marginalized backgrounds, offering them tailored support and resources. It is led by the Institute’s Women at Sundance and Artist Accelerator programs. Momentum supports creators working in fiction or nonfiction who have recently achieved a noteworthy accomplishment, providing participants with a full-year of customized support around current goals they identify for themselves to level up in their craft and career.

News

WEEK IN WOMEN: Gotham Awards’ Breakthrough Director Award nominees are all Women – Brandy McDonnell reports

November 13, 2023November 16, 2023 Brandy McDonnell A.V. Rockwell, best breakthrough director, celine song, Georgia Oakley, gotham awards 2023, Michelle Garza Cervera, Raven Jackson

As the 2023 Gotham Awards launch the cinematic awards season, the Gotham Awards have singled out 20 feature films, 11 series, and 30 performances in 10 award categories. One of those awards categories is the coveted Best Breakthrough Director Award. All five nominees competing in the Breakthrough Director Award are women.

Festivals

NYFF 2023: Female-Focused Wrap – Margaret Barton-Fumo reports

October 10, 2023October 15, 2023 Margaret Barton-Fumo Agnieszka Holland, Alice Rohrwacher, Catherine Breillat, Deborah Stratman, female filmmakers, Joanna Arnow, justine triet, Lee Grant, Michèle Stephenson, Niki de Saint Phalle, NYFF 2023, Raven Jackson, Rosine Mbakam, sofia coppola

Women directors held their own at this year’s New York Film Festival, with impressive films in each of the fest’s coveted programs, from the Main Slate to Revivals. We’ll dip into each of these categories, singling out some of the lesser-known titles, in a women-focused overview of the fest. Starting off with the generally crowd-pleasing Main Slate, a number of women-directed features stood out (eight out of thirty-two, in fact).

Festivals Reviews

ALL DIRT ROADS TASTE OF SALT (NYFF 2023) – Review by Margaret Barton-Fumo

October 2, 2023October 3, 2023 Margaret Barton-Fumo All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Barry Jenkins, New York Film Festival 2023, Raven Jackson

Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt is an ambitious debut, produced with the help of Barry Jenkins’ PASTEL production company. Zoomed in closely on the life of a young woman in rural Mississippi, Jackson’s film favors minute details and amplified emotions, resulting in a quite experimental feature. Parsing through shuffled scenes within a timeline that spans decades, one can intuit the main character Mack’s significant life events, without the aid of a talkative script.