What We're Watching: Women Behind the Camera, March 2021
Happy March Everyone!
We are celebrating Women’s History Month by sharing our favorite things to watch that not only feature women in prominent roles as actors, but also as writers, directors, and creators. At The Light Leaks we champion women and gender non-conforming filmmakers all year long, but this month we’re making the spotlight even brighter. Check out our picks for this month’s What We’re Watching below!
Little Woods (2018 written and dir. by Nia DaCosta)
credit: SAG INDIE
Before Nia DaCosta was attached to direct big budget films like Blumhouse’s Candyman and Captain Marvel 2, she wrote and directed Little Woods, a film about two sisters living in rural North Dakota. Tessa Thompson stars as Oleander “Ollie” who is trying to make ends meet while on probation for selling opioids and forging Canadian health cards. She does odd jobs like selling food and coffee to oil rig workers and doing laundry for people in her small community - adamant about not going down a dark road again. That is, until her sister Deb (Lily James) comes to her for help. Deb is pregnant and needs help to get an abortion in Canada because she can’t afford to have another child. In order to help her sister and keep their family home from being foreclosed upon, Ollie has to make difficult choices. DaCosta does an amazing job of creating compelling characters in Ollie and Deb. Even if you didn’t grow up in a rural community - DaCosta herself grew up in New York - their struggle to survive in a system that wants to see them fail is a relatable and sadly familiar feeling for many people. Little Woods takes complex topics like the opioid crisis and access to healthcare and makes them personal and accessible, which is not an easy task. This film has made DaCosta one of my favorite directors, and I’m so excited to see what she does next! - Brynna A, TLL Editorial Lead
Meadowland (2015 dir. by Reed Morano)
Credit: Variety
CW: self-harm
Reed Morano brings her phenomenal cinematography skills to her feature directorial debut Meadowland, serving as both director and director of photography for the film. Meadowland follows Sarah (Olivia Wilde) and Phil (Luke Wilson) a year after their son, Jessie, is abducted from a rest stop. Both deal with their grief in different ways, but ultimately they drift apart as they struggle with the trauma of their loss. Truthfully, this is a heavy film. Sarah’s struggle is more visible than Phil’s, and at times can be hard to watch. But I recommend this film because even though the subject matter is rough, Morano’s technical skills are so strong. Through vulnerable close-ups and handheld shots, Morano invites you to sit with the characters and their grieving process - in a way that makes you empathize with them rather than judge their coping mechanisms. One way that Sarah copes is by going to Times Square in the hope of finding Jessie among the throngs of people. The camera follows Sarah as she walks along the street, keeping her at the edge of the frame while the city around her is blurred, emphasizing her solitude in this mission. Morano herself is a mother, and her son plays Jessie. This adds another layer to Morano’s direction of Wilde as Sarah that really makes Meadowland worth the watch. Add that to some really gorgeous frames and you have a hauntingly beautiful film. - Brynna A, TLL Editorial Lead
Clueless (1995 written and dir. by Amy Heckerling)
Amy Heckerling’s Clueless is somehow both a snapshot of the time and timeless, which is not an easy feat. In an original screenplay loosely based on Jane Austen’s Emma, Heckerling tells the story of Cher (Alicia Silverstone), a young 15 year old from a wealthy family in Beverly Hills whose main troubles are trying to navigate highschool, relationships, and learning how to drive. When new student Tai (Brittany Murphy) appears as a seemingly clueless newbie, Cher and her best friend Dionne (Stacey Dash) take her under their wing and try to help her adapt to the social scene. They give her a makeover, introduce her to their friends, and try to make her feel welcome at their school. After a series of mishaps that start at a Valley party, Cher and Tai drift apart, forcing Cher to take a deeper look within and ask herself if she made the right choice to meddle with Tai’s life as much as she has. Clueless remains a classic because of the heart Heckerling put into this hyper-stylized world of iconic fashion, memorable lines, and female characters that are more complex than meets the eye. Cher is more than just a rich, blonde girl with too much time on her hands - she’s someone that cares deeply about the people in her life and wants them to be the best versions of themselves. Tai isn’t an attention-seeker, she just wants to be accepted for who she is. In 2021, it still feels rare to see a story about a teen girl written and directed by a woman. Clueless isn’t perfect, but Heckerling made a movie in the ‘90s that continues to have a lasting impression on pop-culture, and that’s something to celebrate. - Brynna A, TLL Editorial Lead
The Wilds (2020 written by Sarah Streicher)
The Wilds, a breakout YA drama & mystery original series from Amazon Prime Video already renewed for a second season, was created, written, and produced by Sarah Streicher. In The Wilds, a group of teenage girls from different backgrounds bearing unique strengths and weaknesses fight to survive together on a deserted island after their plane en route to a women’s empowerment retreat in Hawaii crash lands. Or does it? Unaware and against their own will, the girls are actually subjects in a radical psychosocial experiment that has a theory to prove—free from the interference of men, women will be able to rise up and thrive as intrinsically natural leaders. The Wilds needed more than just Streicher to bring its ambitiously intricate and emotionally intense women-centric story to life. With nine female leads, six female directors, four female executive producers, four female writers, and female stunt coordinators and performers, women are seated at the helm of this series from start to finish. The show is fearlessly unabashed with its exploration of the intersectionalities in each girls’ identity, from race to ethnicity, culture to religion, mental health to trauma, and family to sexuality. As a result, I was able to discover bits and pieces of myself in Shelby Goodkind (Mia Healey) and Toni Shalifoe (Erana James), who feel real, whole, and relatable. It’s a blissful life-affirming feeling that I encounter all too rarely in stories about the coming-of-age experience. Forced comradery in the name of survival transforms into a genuine connection, as this group of teenage girls finds out they are more alike than different. - Lauren L, TLL Video Lead
I May Destroy You (2020 written and dir. by Michaela Coel)
CW: sexual assault
Some call it tough viewing, others call it necessary viewing. I call it the greatest Golden Globe snub of the year. Written, produced, directed by, and starring East London superstar, Michaela Coel, I May Destroy You amplifies the conversation on consent in a raw and nuanced way. Based largely on the true and traumatic events from her life, the scripted drama serves as Coel’s cinematic catharsis. The story picks up with protagonist Arabella (Michaela Coel), a millennial novelist who distracts herself from her impending deadline by meeting up with friends for drinks. The next day she awakes disoriented and bruised and leans onto her friends Terry (Weruche Opia) and Kwame (Paapa Essiedu) to recall the previous night’s events. Sooner than later, Arabella pieces it together and realizes she has been date raped. The series’ plot follows her obsessive effort to reclaim her voice and power as a victim of sexual assault. In the process, she becomes an absentee friend to Terry and Kwame who each confront incidences of sexual assault from their past and present. What I adore about the show is the fact that it does so much in so few episodes. It features all multi-faceted characters—you are inspired and disappointed by them in the same breath. Through the soundtrack, fashion, and slang, it gives us a look into the Black British experience, a culture rarely depicted on screen. It shows us the prevalence of gaslighting, toxic masculinity, and dishonesty in hook-up culture. And lastly, because it’s Michaela Coel, it gives us an escape to laugh. I’m grateful to Michaela Coel for courageously sharing her story to the world. Storytelling like this only comes once in a lifetime and I know this one will stand the test of time. - Justina A, TLL Newsletter Editor
WHAT WE’RE WATCHING
What We’re Watching is our guide on tv and films from our team at the Light Leaks. Finding new things to watch shouldn’t feel intimidating- too many of us have been bombarded by bro-y film culture telling us what’s good. This column is our way of introducing you to new (and maybe some familiar) favs to watch. Happy viewing!