The inside look at our top picks of films directed, written or produced by women.
By Amberlyn Negron
The Austin Film Festival featured several short films directed, written or produced by women. My top picks range in genre, but any film lover would cherish these shorts.
1.“Vial” directed by Caroline Iaffaldano
“Vial” was the prettiest film at the festival. Inspired by the technicolor period of film, it is a vibrant story with a serious message.
“It’s a play on that classic story of a woman wanting to maintain her youth and she’ll do anything to achieve it and then goes too far,” Iaffaldano said. “It also is a spin on Wellness culture.”
The short film questions the toxicity behind the wellness movement and the patriarchal ties for women to maintain a youthful look.
“(I) wanted it to be very feminine and girly and sort of just show the ways in which patriarchy can take place, even when it feels like a sort of very feminine world,” Iaffaldano said.
After I watched it, “Vial” stuck with me, and its stunning set design stood out among the rest, earning it a 5 out of 5.
2. “Dirty Towel” directed by Callie Carpinteri
“Dirty Towel” is the perfect coming-of-age comedy short brought to life by Carpinteri in her first independent film. “Dirty Towel” brings every woman back to the conversation our mothers had with all of us – the purity talk.
“Keep your flower watered.”
“Nobody likes a girl who’s been around.”
“You don’t want to be seen as loose.”
Or in this case, “no one wants a dirty towel.”
“A lot of people, especially women, are made to feel ashamed for their sexual choices,” Carpinteri said.
Frequently women are made to feel bad about their sexual choices. Usually, this guilt and shame is passed down from generation to generation – this feeling is personalized in “Dirty Towel” in Elizabeth, the mother in the film.
“You know it’s not just this negative view on sex, and it’s because she’s felt ashamed for her own choices, and for that, you know when you feel shame and you don’t move past it, you hold on to it for years,” Carpinteri said. “And Elizabeth is the embodiment of that character of holding on to the shame that you felt for so long, and how that impacts, not just how you parent your children, but also like how you view yourself.”
The comedy aspect of the short is the highlight of the short because life is like a comedy movie. Nothing ever is so serious or so sad, but somehow always comical, and “Dirty Towel” captures that perfectly earning itself a 4 out of 5 stars.
3. I Could Dom directed by Madison Hatfield
Funny, sexy and downright kooky were all the things that came into mind while watching “I Could Dom.” An adult coming of age story by Hatfield brings female sexuality to the forefront.
Hatfield became inspired to make the film after she was casually speaking with friends about being a dom. Hatfield said she was laughed at because she was a people pleaser who placed other needs above hers, so being a dom is a paradox for her character.
June (Hatfield), personified the trait as she’s unsure of asserting herself in areas she knows she should. Hatfield aimed to create a story that represents personal growth as an adult.
“I’m in my mid-30s and I think it is important for us to see stories about people who are growing and changing at all stages of their lives,” Hatfield said. “Because realistically, we don’t stop doing that and we need to embrace the change.”
“I Could Dom” pushes the barrier on what a traditional rom-com lead looks like. Hatfield is a plus-sized actress, so intentionally cast herself as June to represent the ladies who don’t fit the “standard” of beauty.
“I’ve put myself in things I’ve written before for a similar reason,” she said. “I really want us to, as an industry, move towards a place where we’re seeing all kinds of people, body types. There are so many more types of bodies in the world than what we see reflected on screen.”
Hatfield said the 15-minute film is a test screener for a full-length feature film she hopes to create to expand the story of June. When the feature film version of “I Could Dom” hits the public it’s a must-see for you and your girlfriends.
4. “Affogato” directed by Dani Hurtado
“Affogato” is Hurtado’s directorial debut as she is a full-time actress. She created “Affogato” to represent the hardships of an actress when they are in between sets.
“I’ve been in the acting side of this industry for many years,” Hurtado said. “I really wanted to use that and make something myself because as an actor, a lot of the time you’re just, like, waiting around for other people to say yes to you.”
“Aggogato” centers on three roommates and actresses Fanny (Hurtado), Sadie (Sarah J. Bartholomew) and Ash (Stevie Marceaux) who appear to be thick as thieves, but learn there is a secret between them that will drive them apart. Spoiler alert: it involves a man, but let’s not go too deep into that.
Both Ash and Fanny look up to Sadie, the oldest of the trio and the only one with a steady acting gig. Fanny is the focal point of the film, and the audience follows her as she attempts to audition for a new role. She struggles to connect to the role because she doesn’t allow herself to be vulnerable.
After an altercation between herself and Sadie, Fanny finds the connection to her audition connection allowing her to be vulnerable with herself and the camera fully.
“You do have to pull from your own being because you are portraying that character, so you have to. It has to filter through you and so I think inevitably, especially when you are right for a part, it just means like you are embodying that part,” Hurtado said. “You have to attach it to your personal life. It does bleed through, but it doesn’t have to be highly consequential either.”
“Affogato” was heart-wrenching, and yet, the most realistic film to be shown in the shorts this year. Hurtado’s directorial debut astounded me and I eagerly look forward to her future work in the director’s chair.
5. “Mermaid, Bitch” directed by Victoria Negri
Have you ever dreamed about being a mermaid? If you answered yes, “Mermaid, Bitch” brought your fantasy to reality. Director, Victoria Negri, said the short film came to be after a conversation with co-writer and Olympian Alexi Pappas.
“I started talking to her about this other feature script I’m writing about a mermaid very different from the short, but that, like, sparked her interest,”Negri said. “And she’s like ‘ohh, I want to do a mermaid. Let’s do a mermaid thing. Let’s just do it.’”
“Mermaid, Bitch” follows dependent best friends Lily (Pappas) and Ruby (Ruby McCollister) navigate Lily’s transformation into a mermaid after a crazy night out.
While the heart of the film is in comedy deep topics of friendship and transformation were weaved into “Mermaid, Bitch.”
“I call it a legacy friendship like you have those people in your lives that have been around forever, that you feel like they’re going to go nowhere no matter what, and you start to take them for granted,” said Negri “Maybe, perhaps, but also you feel like there’s nothing new that could happen.”
Lily and Ruby’s dynamic grows from besties who are dependent on each other to friends who will now be separated for the foreseeable future. In reality, no one ever stays stagnant. We all grow and change and sometimes that means a change of scenery as well, and in this case, it’s quite literally the sea between the pair. However, true bonds will last over distance and they mature as we mature, and the girls learn that at the climax of the film.
“Mermaid ,Bitch” created the fuzzy feeling movies like “Aquamarine” did when I was a child, making it a must watch for you and your gal pals.