"Ein kurzes Q&A für ein Portrait" - das war unsere Bitte an Filmemacher:innen der diesjährigen Viennale, und ihre Antworten sind großartig. Hier JENNIFER REEDER, Regisseurin von PERPETRATOR.
1. Why did you want to make this film / tell specifically this story?
I believe the way we talk about young women who have agency and independence is damaging. For instance, we might say that a girl is WILD AND OUT OF CONTROL. This phrase is not meant to celebrate her, it's meant to diminish her. So I set out to tell a story about a WILD AND OUT OF CONTROL girl who actually becomes wild and out of control, which is exactly the origin of every great shape-shifter myth.
2. What was the biggest difficulty you encountered in the making of your film, and how did you overcome it? Gaining trust from the financiers and producers. Female filmmakers often have to do a lot of exhaustive convincing. It's not a given that people immediately believe that I can do what I say I will do. And yet, there is nothing in my filmography that would suggest otherwise. Trust women and give them all the money and all the days and all the resources they ask for.
3. What would you like / hope for the audience to take away from your film?
I want the audience to feel entertained, of course, but I would also like for audiences to think about our obsession with youth and beauty among young women, while neither youth nor beauty is an accomplishment.
4. Which film has disturbed you most, and why?
Brandon Cronenberg's "Possessor" is a true juggernaut and I loved every moment of it.
5. What do you like to do to be creatively inspired?
I read a fiction book, I watch a film, I take a nap.
6. What, in your view, is the “purpose” of cinema?
Art and culture, which includes cinema, is as vital to human survival as food and water and air and shelter in my opinion. Wonder and beauty and feeling seen and validated through a lens of film storytelling is transformative.