Shooting Women

Filmmaker Alexis Krasilovsky, author of Women Behind the Camera (1997), has collected interviews here with over 50 women cinematographers from more than 20 countries, ranging from a Chinese camerawoman who filmed Mao Zedong in the late 1940s to women working on Hollywood feature films today (such as Ellen Kuras, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). The interviewees touch on numerous topics, including the history of women behind the camera, their individual careers, filming techniques, discrimination, sexual harassment, balancing work and family, filming in dangerous circumstances, and humorous experiences. Some of the interview material is accompanied by brief excerpts from documentaries and feature films (including some disturbing scenes, such as an Afghan woman's public execution). While the women—many are pioneers in the field—are engaging and knowledgeable, the interviews are broken into sound bites (with some loose topical arrangement), making the film seem both choppy and disorganized. Powerful footage of women filmmakers in Afghanistan and India in particular illustrate the impact film has as an educational, political, and social tool, but this hour-shy production seems too short to fully cover the subject matter. DVD extras include a bonus disc featuring an informative interview with Krasilovsky and 26 brief 'additional interview' segments. An optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (M. Puffer-Rothenberg)