In its first showcase of local and international works by women filmmakers, GAZE presents a diverse collection of shorts on the concept of HOME.
When all is fleeting and ephemeral, what can we call home? And are we ever truly at home? From the experimental unearthing and reassembly of family history to the voyeuristic gaze into the bedroom windows of strangers to the dreamlike Turkish beach resorts that offer a “home away from home”, this wildly varied collection questions the very concept of “home” while showcasing exciting experimental, documentary, and narrative work
from seasoned and emerging women filmmakers, both locally and internationally.
GAZE is excited to present, HOME.
Avo, by Raquel Schefer
Mozambique, 1960, just before the beginning of the war, portrait of a colonial family. A sequence of archive footage filmed by my grandfather, former colonial administrator, is the point of departure for an experimental documentary on the history of the Portuguese decolonization and its memory. Double memory or memory split in two: the lived and descriptive memory of the colonizers (their texts, their images) versus the invented memory of their descendants. This film is an attempt to represent my indirect memories of Mozambique.
Sveit, by Kyja-Kristansson Nelson
While unpacking memories and stories of her grandfather’s experience as a New American in North Dakota, Kyja documents the history and mythology of her family’s emigration while negotiating the reality of present day Iceland. A non-fiction, avant-doc experience that combines animation and experimental technique, Sveit is a geneography of memory and place.
Homecoming, by Irina Leimbacher
Three separate journeys to people or places I once thought of as home. Each is revealed to be fragile, vulnerable, fraught with instability.
Canada, by Anjali Sundaram
Part memoir, part fiction, Canada is the story of a young, half-Indian girl who struggles with her New Age mom and her younger siblings as the family attempts to move from Northern California to Vancouver in a VW bug. 24-p digital video, anamorphic, 16 min
Longshore, by Vera Brunner-Sung
A tour of a midwestern neighborhood navigates the relationship between individual and community, privacy and intimacy
Inside, by Mandy Williams
Inside is a 4.28 minute digital video that was shot from the street at dusk over a period of two months. It explores the idea of home as a sanctuary, retreat or cell, and captures people self-contained in their routines at the end of the day, as similar events take place across the city. The editing emphasizes the repetition of these activities and is inspired by Derek Jarman’s ‘Journey to the Avebury’, where his use of static camera shots and uncompromising editing highlights the mystical and ritual elements of place.
Bu Sahilde, by Merve Kayan & Zeynep Dadaka
Bu Sahilde (On the Coast) is a short essay film on the ephemeral feeling of summer, observed in Erikli, a small coastal town on the Aegean Sea in Turkey. The film reflects on the nature of vacation, as it is a transformed version of reality, the fantastical counterpart to winter.
GAZE is a film series dedicated to screening independent film and video made by women. GAZE promotes women’s artistic expression and creates dialogue related to the influence of this powerful medium.
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