Fandor
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“It Really Does Take a Village”: Ted Schaefer on Giving Birth to a Butterfly
Our projected identities—and the constant performance inherent in presenting ourselves—fuel the surrealist philosophy of Ted Schaefer’s Giving Birth to a Butterfly. The filmmaker’s directorial debut, from a script he co-wrote with author Patrick Lawler, delves into a psychedelic psychology of what truly constitutes “the self” (very fitting for a collaborative duo who met through a mutual therapist). Giving Birth to a Butterfly largely consists of a roadtrip odyssey shared by Diana (Annie Parisse), a pharmacist stuck in an unfulfilling marriage to aspiring chef Daryl (Paul Sparks), and Marlene (Gus Birney), a heavily pregnant young woman who’s dating Diana’s son Drew […]
by Natalia Keogan on May 30, 2023 -
“We Expected for Pretty Much No One To See It”: Justin Zuckerman on Yelling Fire in an Empty Theater
I first saw Justin Zuckerman’s Yelling Fire in an Empty Theater—the writer-director’s ultra-low-budget, MiniDV-shot feature debut—back in December at Williamsburg’s Spectacle Theater. I’d been invited on a whim by the film’s emerging producer Ryan Martin Brown, and I happened to be long overdue for a visit to the volunteer-run microcinema. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but was quickly charmed by Yelling Fire‘s humble yet lived-in digital aesthetic, impressively taut script and endearing ensemble of adrift, wannabe New Yorkers. Shot between November and December of 2019 and made for less than $3,000, the film feels like a strange, beautiful […]
by Natalia Keogan on Mar 7, 2023 -
Is The End Nigh for Fandor?
On the heels of FilmStruck’s closure, independent film streaming services have taken another hit as Fandor laid off about 40 employees towards the end of last week. The company’s CEO, Chris Kelly, announced that their assets were sold to a newly formed entity — Fandor ABC LLC, which is managed by GlassRatner — and that Fandor.com “will continue streaming movies without interruptions.” Their homepage now features a very small header that, once clicked upon, offers up the following statement: Fandor has prided itself on providing access to great film and visual expression to a broad audience. While we have had […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Dec 10, 2018 -
Watch: The Look of Fear
Just in time for Halloween, Fandor shares the above video essay which analyzes how film can effectively convey fear. Spanning 1920-2014, the video highlights the best reaction shots featuring “the look of fear.” In the accompanying essay, Daniel Mcilwraith explains, “This video asks you to contemplate several questions within these faces of fear. Which gender is most burdened with the look of fear? Which is more effective: paralyzing shock or a piercing scream? I asked myself why the look of fear was so persistent in horror cinema—perhaps it can tell us more about the human face as the most powerful cinematic spectacle.”
by Paula Bernstein on Oct 26, 2016 -
Watch: Pasolini’s Eye Contact
“The eye of the camera always manages to express the interior of a character,” according to the late filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. The latest video essay (above) by Daniel Mcilwraith at Fandor meditates on Pasolini’s use of the close-up to capture the interior of his characters. “Pasolini’s faces are often confrontational, breaking the barrier between screen and spectator. There is something unnerving, yet often playful, about making eye contact with those on screen,” writes Mcilwraith. What do you see when you look into the eyes of his characters? Check out the video essay above and draw your own conclusions.
by Paula Bernstein on Aug 1, 2016 -
Watch: The Radical Beauty of Tangerine
When Tangerine was released in 2015, much of the press attention focused on the fact that it was shot entirely on an iPhone 5s. Though that technical feat is impressive, the raw beauty of the film is equally striking. Set on Christmas Eve, Tangerine follows transgender sex workers and best friends Sin-Dee (Kitana Kiki Rodriguez) and Alexandra (Mya Taylor) on an odyssey through various Los Angeles subcultures. At Fandor Keyframe, a new video essay (above) by LJ Frezza examines the film’s unique aesthetic and how director Sean Baker and DP Radium Cheung found beauty from a position of marginalization.
by Paula Bernstein on Jun 14, 2016 -
Watch: Which Movies Have the Greatest Cinematography?
Over at Fandor Keyframe, Scout Tafoya muses about what makes a great cinematographer. “None of us seems to quite have the same definition of great photography,” he intones. “It seems that none of us agree what a cinematographer is supposed to do, what their relationship is with the image, the camera itself.” He asked dozens of critics to select ten films that feature their version of ideal photography in order to see if there was any common ground among them. He then created a video essay (above) analyzing the films that received the most votes, including The Tree of Life, The […]
by Paula Bernstein on Apr 28, 2016 -
Watch: Inside the Rooms of No Home Movie, Take 2
Late last week, we published a video essay from Kevin B. Lee, chief video essayist at Fandor, about the spaces in Chantal Akerman’s final documentary, No Home Movie. Lee estimated that about 70% of the film took place within the walls of the filmmaker’s dying mother Natalia’s apartment. To re-orient himself in Natalia’s apartment, Lee reorganized the footage by room. Initially, he edited the video to music, using Schubert’s Impromptu D. 899 Op. 90 No. 3, not coincidentally the same music used in Michael Haneke’s Amour, which also follows an elderly woman’s demise. But after receiving some complaints, including from the distributors of the film, Lee reassessed […]
by Paula Bernstein on Apr 5, 2016 -
Watch: No Home Movie Room by Room
Chantal Akerman’s final film, No Home Movie, takes on a deeper resonance following the Belgian filmmaker’s death in October 2015. The film is a documentary tribute to her dying mother, Natalia a.k.a. Nelly and an exploration of their relationship. As with all of Akerman’s work, there’s a deeply autobiographical element to the film — even more so now that we know it was to be her last. In the above video essay from Fandor, Kevin B. Lee has reorganized the film’s footage by each room in the apartment to emphasize how Akerman explores each space to reflect her relationship with her dying mother. Beginning April 1, No Home Movie […]
by Paula Bernstein on Mar 31, 2016 -
Watch: The Tarantino Death Toll
Ever wonder how many people have died in Quentin Tarantino films? Or what’s behind the director’s seeming obsession with killing? Kevin B. Lee, Chief Video Essayist at Fandor, has tackled the bloody topic with a video essay on the body count in Tarantino’s films. Note the video’s warning: “the following video contains disturbing imagery of extreme violence and death.” In the text essay that accompanies the video (which you can watch above), Lee explains that he created this video after the release of Tarantino’s last film, Django Unchained, but this is the first time it’s being published (read the essay to understand […]
by Paula Bernstein on Dec 16, 2015
