In an aim to bring out equality across France's film industry, almost 300 professionals have signed up to a new movement that launched on the evening of France's prestigious Cesar awards: Collectif 5050x2020.
The movement's spokesperson, co-founder and film sales executive Berenice Vincent stated that their goal was to 'put in place concrete steps to bring about equality across the business'.
This movement sits amongst many other gender equality campaigns that have emerged in the film industry amidst the on-going reflection on female representation in cinema sparked by the anti-sexual harassment movement #MeToo.
The movement launches, however, against a complicated backdrop in France, where there has been a mixed response within the film industry and beyond to the related issues of sexual harassment and gender inequality in the cinema business
“In spite of the shockwave of #MeToo, French cinema has not really been shaken by the Weinstein affair, and nothing concrete has come out of it. It’s raised awareness of inequalities, but our expectations are for this to go further and for speeches to be joined by actions,” explained Vincent.
Vincent said the collective would act as an “action think tank” that would “create tools” aimed at changing present day thinking as well as put pressure on public institutions and the private section to make structural changes fostering gender equality.
Artistic figures joining the movement include directors Catherine Corsini, Justine Triet, Valérie Donzelli, Virginie Despentes, Robin Campillo, Jacques Audiard, Laurent Cantet, Bertrand Bonello, Thomas Cailley and Houda Benyamina as well as actresses Léa Seydoux, Lily-Rose Depp, Clemence Poésy, Virginie Efira and Natacha Regnier.
Thursday, 8 March 2018
WEEKLY FILM: The Neon Demon
The Neon Demon is a 2016 psychological horror film directed & co-produced by Nicolas Winding Refn, produced by Lene Børglum & starring Elle Fanning. The film tells the story of a 16-year-old Jesse who moves to Los Angeles in pursuit of a modelling career. The main themes throughout the movie (in my opinion) are envy, beauty, narcissism & danger.
The movie was announced on November 3rd, 2014, by Refn's production company Space Rocket Nation, alongside his its co-financiers Gaumont Film Company & Wild Bunch. Filming began on location in Los Angeles in late March of 2015 and the film was finally released in May of 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival: all filming was carried out in California, with the majority being true to the film and in Los Angeles, with the exception of a few scenes: the house by the beach being shot in Malibu, Jesse's motel being shot in Pasadena, & the end credits scene being shot in Amboy. Interestingly, another way Refn stayed true to the film's script was by casting Elle Fanning, who was 16 at the time of filming just like her character Jesse.
In January 2015, Refn revealed that the script was inspired by both Elizabeth Bathory and his wife. Bathory inspired him because of her reported violent tendencies, as he had 'made enough films about violent men' and wanted to make a film with only women as a point of focus. His wife inspired him because she was apparently tired of travelling anywhere but L.A. and wanted to only go there, so Refn came up with the idea and went to L.A.
The film's cinematography was carried out by Argentinian cinematographer Natasha Braier, who won the Robert Award for Best Cinematography for her work on The Neon Demon. For the first half of the film, the colour blue is very prominent in the film's lighting and colour scheme; this is because Jesse's story arc mirrors the Greek myth of Narcissus, who falls in love with his reflection in water. This is shown when Jesse walks in Sarno's fashion show, as she has a similar vision to one she had earlier on in the film where she hallucinated a neon blue triangle; in this scene, the triangle turns from blue to red as Jesse's new narcissistic persona, which people have speculated to actually be the 'neon demon', emerges. As fashion plays a big part in the film, a lot of shots are very aesthetically pleasing and feature symmetry and sometimes minimalism; these visually appealing shots could suggest Jesse's outlook of life and how she sees everything as beautiful.
Performance in The Neon Demon helps convey to the audience that this world of beauty has a melancholy atmosphere and isn't all it's cracked up to be. For instance, almost every character seems to be drained from any life or emotion when they talk, apart from when their façade is stripped away or they are putting on false emotions. A good example of false emotions is when Ruby, Jesse's makeup artist or 'friend', talks to Jesse and appears to be a trustworthy person, when really it is revealed to the audience that she is not at the end of the film.
The Neon Demon's editing helps to show Jesse's emotions and her main emotional turning point. For instance, when Jesse cuts her hand at the casting for Sarno's fashion show and Sarah attempts to suck the blood from her hand, she goes home immediately, faints, and hallucinates strange images, shown by a series of sharp cuts in the scene; this suggests that Sarah may have affected the way Jesse thinks, which is a strong hint at the idea that Sarah, Gigi and Ruby are all witches or cult members. Jesse's turning point also features many cuts and flashing images, which make the scene difficult to focus on; this could suggest that Jesse's authentic persona is being pushed down by her new narcissistic persona and is finding it difficult to fight back.
The film's soundtrack was composed by Cliff Martinez, who had worked with Refn previously on his film Drive. Martinez described the soundtrack as a 'sparse electronic score' and compared (musically) the film's first half to 'a melodrama like Valley of the Dolls' and the second half to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This emphasises both Jesse's and the whole film's turning point and helps convey to the audience how big of a change happens when transitioning from the first to the second half.
The film received mixed reviews by both critics and audiences, with some saying that the film was stylish but had an underdeveloped plot and thinly written characters, and others saying that Refn pushes the plot past its logical end point to land on a 'jaw-dropping' end sequence. The film received half of it's $7 million budget at the box office and both a standing ovation and a disappointed audience at the Cannes Film Festival. This could be because of the film's controversial and strong occult themes shown towards the end of the film; for instance, when Ruby visits her second job as a makeup artist for the dead in a morgue, she reveals herself to be a necrophiliac, which can obviously make an audience uncomfortable. A 'ritual' shown just before the film's end shows Ruby with occult tattoos and blood gushing from her body in a room lit by moonlight, which is where the theory that Gigi, Sarah and Ruby are either witches, cult members or both. A theme a cannibalism is also brought up when Gigi vomits Jesse's eyeball at the very end of the film. All of these themes combined can obviously make a general audience who are not fans of experimental film uncomfortable.
The movie was announced on November 3rd, 2014, by Refn's production company Space Rocket Nation, alongside his its co-financiers Gaumont Film Company & Wild Bunch. Filming began on location in Los Angeles in late March of 2015 and the film was finally released in May of 2016 at the Cannes Film Festival: all filming was carried out in California, with the majority being true to the film and in Los Angeles, with the exception of a few scenes: the house by the beach being shot in Malibu, Jesse's motel being shot in Pasadena, & the end credits scene being shot in Amboy. Interestingly, another way Refn stayed true to the film's script was by casting Elle Fanning, who was 16 at the time of filming just like her character Jesse.
In January 2015, Refn revealed that the script was inspired by both Elizabeth Bathory and his wife. Bathory inspired him because of her reported violent tendencies, as he had 'made enough films about violent men' and wanted to make a film with only women as a point of focus. His wife inspired him because she was apparently tired of travelling anywhere but L.A. and wanted to only go there, so Refn came up with the idea and went to L.A.
The film's cinematography was carried out by Argentinian cinematographer Natasha Braier, who won the Robert Award for Best Cinematography for her work on The Neon Demon. For the first half of the film, the colour blue is very prominent in the film's lighting and colour scheme; this is because Jesse's story arc mirrors the Greek myth of Narcissus, who falls in love with his reflection in water. This is shown when Jesse walks in Sarno's fashion show, as she has a similar vision to one she had earlier on in the film where she hallucinated a neon blue triangle; in this scene, the triangle turns from blue to red as Jesse's new narcissistic persona, which people have speculated to actually be the 'neon demon', emerges. As fashion plays a big part in the film, a lot of shots are very aesthetically pleasing and feature symmetry and sometimes minimalism; these visually appealing shots could suggest Jesse's outlook of life and how she sees everything as beautiful.
Performance in The Neon Demon helps convey to the audience that this world of beauty has a melancholy atmosphere and isn't all it's cracked up to be. For instance, almost every character seems to be drained from any life or emotion when they talk, apart from when their façade is stripped away or they are putting on false emotions. A good example of false emotions is when Ruby, Jesse's makeup artist or 'friend', talks to Jesse and appears to be a trustworthy person, when really it is revealed to the audience that she is not at the end of the film.
The Neon Demon's editing helps to show Jesse's emotions and her main emotional turning point. For instance, when Jesse cuts her hand at the casting for Sarno's fashion show and Sarah attempts to suck the blood from her hand, she goes home immediately, faints, and hallucinates strange images, shown by a series of sharp cuts in the scene; this suggests that Sarah may have affected the way Jesse thinks, which is a strong hint at the idea that Sarah, Gigi and Ruby are all witches or cult members. Jesse's turning point also features many cuts and flashing images, which make the scene difficult to focus on; this could suggest that Jesse's authentic persona is being pushed down by her new narcissistic persona and is finding it difficult to fight back.
The film's soundtrack was composed by Cliff Martinez, who had worked with Refn previously on his film Drive. Martinez described the soundtrack as a 'sparse electronic score' and compared (musically) the film's first half to 'a melodrama like Valley of the Dolls' and the second half to Texas Chainsaw Massacre. This emphasises both Jesse's and the whole film's turning point and helps convey to the audience how big of a change happens when transitioning from the first to the second half.
The film received mixed reviews by both critics and audiences, with some saying that the film was stylish but had an underdeveloped plot and thinly written characters, and others saying that Refn pushes the plot past its logical end point to land on a 'jaw-dropping' end sequence. The film received half of it's $7 million budget at the box office and both a standing ovation and a disappointed audience at the Cannes Film Festival. This could be because of the film's controversial and strong occult themes shown towards the end of the film; for instance, when Ruby visits her second job as a makeup artist for the dead in a morgue, she reveals herself to be a necrophiliac, which can obviously make an audience uncomfortable. A 'ritual' shown just before the film's end shows Ruby with occult tattoos and blood gushing from her body in a room lit by moonlight, which is where the theory that Gigi, Sarah and Ruby are either witches, cult members or both. A theme a cannibalism is also brought up when Gigi vomits Jesse's eyeball at the very end of the film. All of these themes combined can obviously make a general audience who are not fans of experimental film uncomfortable.
Fish Tank
Fish Tank is a 2009 British drama written and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film tells the
story of a young, volatile 15-year-old girl - Mia William (Katie Jarvis) - and her relationship with her mother Joanne's (Kierston Wareing) new boyfriend Conor (Michael Fassbender). The main themes in the film include isolation, love, class, and family.
Filming & principal photography for began Fish Tank began on 28 July 2008 over 6 weeks and was filmed in chronological order on location in Essex: the cast were given the scripts for their scenes at the end of each week so that they would be unaware of what happens to their characters when performing each scene.
Interestingly, Katie Jarvis had no prior acting experience before the film, but was scouted by one of Arnold's casting assistants at Tilbury Town station , the railway station featured in the film, while she was arguing with her boyfriend.
Cinematography for Fish Tank was carried out by Robbie Ryan, who first worked with Arnold on her 2003 short film Wasp and then her first feature length film, Red Road. Throughout the film, the filming technique, lighting and colour scheme is very reminiscent of Wasp, particularly Arnold's seemingly favoured handheld filming technique; this creates a strong sense of realism in the film, as it seems as if someone was really there filming Mia's endeavours. This sense of realism helps us as an audience to connect with Mia's character more. The similar (to Wasp) lighting and colour scheme in Fish Tank creates a theory that perhaps the characters are connected somehow, even though they are set in different locations. Although the aesthetic of the film bears some similarity to Wasp, it still differs itself by showcasing a lot of cold colour and lighting schemes, which sort of create a sense of sadness or depression. This helps to show the audience how Mia is feeling, as often in the film the lighting shifts with Mia's apparent mood: for instance, when Mia is taken out for a drive with Conor and her family, the lighting and colour warms up from the grey, melancholy setting of their flat (this also creates the idea that Mia feels better when she escapes from home and doesn't feel so lonely anymore, therefore enhancing the theme of isolation). The final shot of the film features some warm lighting and some pink colours, showing a heart shaped balloon floating away to represent Mia finally escaping her isolation.
Performance in Fish Tank helps to create that sense of realism that the handheld filming technique does. As this was Jarvis' debut role, as well as the circumstances in which Jarvis was cast, it shows the audience how authentic Mia's character is, almost as if Mia was slightly modelled off of Jarvis herself. This again connects us as an audience to her character. The other cast members' performances are also authentic and convincing, particularly Mia's younger sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths) who is portrayed as both slightly mature and childish simultaneously without making it seem too false.
Editing throughout the film is minimal and low-key, a clear use of invisible editing, again adding to that sense of realism. The aspect ratio of the film remains square and smaller than most feature length films, which immediately shows the audience Mia's feelings of isolation as well as the feeling of being cramped in.
Sound and music play a very big part in Fish Tank. For example, throughout the film, the majority of the time Mia carries around a bag containing a CD player and speakers, which get taken from her by Billy's (Harry Treadaway) - Mia's second love interest - friends or maybe brothers, prompting her to later go back to get them, showing the importance of music to her. Music also seems to be a way the characters can really connect with each other and relax around each other. For example, an awkward and almost spiteful tension is clearly held between Mia and her mother Joanne, but even music can make the tension fizzle out and break the barrier between them; this is obvious in one of the final scenes in which Mia is saying goodbye before she goes to Cardiff and ends up dancing with both her mother and sister to one of her favourite songs. Music also helps bring certain characters to the audience's memory, specifically California Dreamin', Conor's favourite song which appears several times in the film, which suggests that Mia is thinking of Conor in those moments.
Fish Tank was received extremely well by critics and audiences, receiving a 91% positive review from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an average audience rating of 7.6 out of 10. The film also received almost double its budget of $3 million in the box office and was described by the New Yorker's David Denby as a 'commanding, emotionally satisfying movie'. Fish Tank also won the Cannes Jury Prize with the consensus stating that the film is 'gritty British realism at it's best'
Filming & principal photography for began Fish Tank began on 28 July 2008 over 6 weeks and was filmed in chronological order on location in Essex: the cast were given the scripts for their scenes at the end of each week so that they would be unaware of what happens to their characters when performing each scene.
Interestingly, Katie Jarvis had no prior acting experience before the film, but was scouted by one of Arnold's casting assistants at Tilbury Town station , the railway station featured in the film, while she was arguing with her boyfriend.
Cinematography for Fish Tank was carried out by Robbie Ryan, who first worked with Arnold on her 2003 short film Wasp and then her first feature length film, Red Road. Throughout the film, the filming technique, lighting and colour scheme is very reminiscent of Wasp, particularly Arnold's seemingly favoured handheld filming technique; this creates a strong sense of realism in the film, as it seems as if someone was really there filming Mia's endeavours. This sense of realism helps us as an audience to connect with Mia's character more. The similar (to Wasp) lighting and colour scheme in Fish Tank creates a theory that perhaps the characters are connected somehow, even though they are set in different locations. Although the aesthetic of the film bears some similarity to Wasp, it still differs itself by showcasing a lot of cold colour and lighting schemes, which sort of create a sense of sadness or depression. This helps to show the audience how Mia is feeling, as often in the film the lighting shifts with Mia's apparent mood: for instance, when Mia is taken out for a drive with Conor and her family, the lighting and colour warms up from the grey, melancholy setting of their flat (this also creates the idea that Mia feels better when she escapes from home and doesn't feel so lonely anymore, therefore enhancing the theme of isolation). The final shot of the film features some warm lighting and some pink colours, showing a heart shaped balloon floating away to represent Mia finally escaping her isolation.Performance in Fish Tank helps to create that sense of realism that the handheld filming technique does. As this was Jarvis' debut role, as well as the circumstances in which Jarvis was cast, it shows the audience how authentic Mia's character is, almost as if Mia was slightly modelled off of Jarvis herself. This again connects us as an audience to her character. The other cast members' performances are also authentic and convincing, particularly Mia's younger sister Tyler (Rebecca Griffiths) who is portrayed as both slightly mature and childish simultaneously without making it seem too false.
Editing throughout the film is minimal and low-key, a clear use of invisible editing, again adding to that sense of realism. The aspect ratio of the film remains square and smaller than most feature length films, which immediately shows the audience Mia's feelings of isolation as well as the feeling of being cramped in.
Sound and music play a very big part in Fish Tank. For example, throughout the film, the majority of the time Mia carries around a bag containing a CD player and speakers, which get taken from her by Billy's (Harry Treadaway) - Mia's second love interest - friends or maybe brothers, prompting her to later go back to get them, showing the importance of music to her. Music also seems to be a way the characters can really connect with each other and relax around each other. For example, an awkward and almost spiteful tension is clearly held between Mia and her mother Joanne, but even music can make the tension fizzle out and break the barrier between them; this is obvious in one of the final scenes in which Mia is saying goodbye before she goes to Cardiff and ends up dancing with both her mother and sister to one of her favourite songs. Music also helps bring certain characters to the audience's memory, specifically California Dreamin', Conor's favourite song which appears several times in the film, which suggests that Mia is thinking of Conor in those moments.Fish Tank was received extremely well by critics and audiences, receiving a 91% positive review from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and an average audience rating of 7.6 out of 10. The film also received almost double its budget of $3 million in the box office and was described by the New Yorker's David Denby as a 'commanding, emotionally satisfying movie'. Fish Tank also won the Cannes Jury Prize with the consensus stating that the film is 'gritty British realism at it's best'
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Fish Tank is a 2009 British drama written and directed by Andrea Arnold. The film tells the story of a young, volatile 15-year-old girl - ... -
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