OFF PLUS CAMERA

In the “Filming Women” section we will present the most interesting films made in the last few years. As the name of the section might suggest, these will be films touching upon the women's issues, not necessarily made by women though.

 The selected titles may serve as proof that contemporary cinema is full of genuine portraits of women far from the stereotypical perception of the representatives of the fair sex. The section “Filming Women” and its contents set questions about criteria of feminine identity, touch upon the complexity of female sexuality and carnal needs, the coming of age and ageing. Most of all, the films instead of directly demanding equality, tolerance or the following of the basic human rights, celebrate diversity, complexity and the antithetic character of a female nature.

The section will present 10 titles. Two are shortly introduced today:
“On Tour” (“Tournée”) directed by a popular French actor Mathieu Amalric (“Kings and Queen”, “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”, “Munich”). It is a bitter sweet tale of the bright and dark sides of an onstage career exemplified on a burlesque. This is a combination of music, singing, theatre, strip show with the inevitable drop of kitsch. In order to convey the energy of live performances, for the purposes of the making of the film, the crew organised a real tour through the French ports. The film received Palme d'Or and was nominated for Cesar in 7 categories.
“Whip It” is the feature debut of the famous American actress Drew Barrymore “Whip It”. Barrymore is known for her memorable roles in “E.T.”, “Batman Forever”, “Scream”, “Donnie Darko”. Barrymore performs in the film herself and she also invited such celebrities as Ellen Page, Marcia Gay Harden and Juliette Lewis to participate in her project. The film tells a story of a 17-year old Bliss living in a small town on the outskirts of Austin, Texas. Her mother claims that the dream of every girl Bliss's age is participation in a beauty pageant. However, Bliss has other priorities in her life. One day she decides to take part in roller derby.