I want to make a film about women
a queer speculative documentary love letter to Russian constructivist women
Director’s Statement
‘I want to make a film about women’ is about constructivist women in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and a conversation they never had in a kitchen where potato peels become film strips and men get put in cupboards.
It is a speculative documentary. It had to be speculative, because it is about hidden forces. The women constructivists of the new Soviet Union in the 1920s were one such force. Hidden by more famous husbands and louder men, these women created from the world around them. Their work often started in domestic contexts. But what did they say to each other? How did they think? There are hints in the works they left behind, and I have, in this film, picked up on the thoughts that are embedded in their work and brought them to life as processes. In ‘I want to make a film about women’ we see women’s hidden creativity, their creative thinking with hands, with tools, with available materials and with each other.
The creative processes of the central character, Esfir Shub (1894-1959), inspired me first. She was a great innovator in documentary filmmaking, but her innovations often go uncredited. She innovated with many techniques of remix filmmaking. She taught Eisenstein to edit. She invented the character-driven documentary. She recorded the first ever sync-sound interview in a documentary. And she wrote a script for a film about women that she never got to make. Her 1933 article, entitled ‘I want to make a film about women’, cries out for an opportunity to work, to realise her visions for constructivist documentaries even in Stalin’s freeze on innovation. I’ve used this short manifesto as a springboard for my speculations. Esfir Shub wanted to make a film about women, and I want to make a film about her, because if I don’t speculate on what she and her brilliant constructivist friends might have done or felt or thought, their stories will remain hidden.
‘I want to make a film about women’ is about constructivist women in the Soviet Union in the 1920s and a conversation they never had in a kitchen where potato peels become film strips and men get put in cupboards.
It is a speculative documentary. It had to be speculative, because it is about hidden forces. The women constructivists of the new Soviet Union in the 1920s were one such force. Hidden by more famous husbands and louder men, these women created from the world around them. Their work often started in domestic contexts. But what did they say to each other? How did they think? There are hints in the works they left behind, and I have, in this film, picked up on the thoughts that are embedded in their work and brought them to life as processes. In ‘I want to make a film about women’ we see women’s hidden creativity, their creative thinking with hands, with tools, with available materials and with each other.
The creative processes of the central character, Esfir Shub (1894-1959), inspired me first. She was a great innovator in documentary filmmaking, but her innovations often go uncredited. She innovated with many techniques of remix filmmaking. She taught Eisenstein to edit. She invented the character-driven documentary. She recorded the first ever sync-sound interview in a documentary. And she wrote a script for a film about women that she never got to make. Her 1933 article, entitled ‘I want to make a film about women’, cries out for an opportunity to work, to realise her visions for constructivist documentaries even in Stalin’s freeze on innovation. I’ve used this short manifesto as a springboard for my speculations. Esfir Shub wanted to make a film about women, and I want to make a film about her, because if I don’t speculate on what she and her brilliant constructivist friends might have done or felt or thought, their stories will remain hidden.
Running time: 12 minutes
For screenings and more information contact: [email protected]
Key Credits
I want to make a film about women
Written, directed & edited by Karen Pearlman
Produced by Richard James Allen and Karen Pearlman
Starring: Victoria Haralabidou
Featuring: Liliya May, Inga Romantsova, Violette Ayad, Eva Sliter, Nadia Zwecker, Tug Dumbly and Richard James Allen
Dancers: Jay Bailey, Clémence Dugué, Clarissa Harrison, Olivia Kingston, Billie Moffat
Cinematography by Meg White
Production Design by Valentina Iastrebova
Costume Design by Valentina Serebrennikova
Visual effects by Pavel Trotsenko
Sound Editors: Andy Wright & Leah Katz, Soundfirm
Music by Caitlin Yeo
A Physical TV Company Production
For screenings and more information contact: [email protected]
Key Credits
I want to make a film about women
Written, directed & edited by Karen Pearlman
Produced by Richard James Allen and Karen Pearlman
Starring: Victoria Haralabidou
Featuring: Liliya May, Inga Romantsova, Violette Ayad, Eva Sliter, Nadia Zwecker, Tug Dumbly and Richard James Allen
Dancers: Jay Bailey, Clémence Dugué, Clarissa Harrison, Olivia Kingston, Billie Moffat
Cinematography by Meg White
Production Design by Valentina Iastrebova
Costume Design by Valentina Serebrennikova
Visual effects by Pavel Trotsenko
Sound Editors: Andy Wright & Leah Katz, Soundfirm
Music by Caitlin Yeo
A Physical TV Company Production
