British cinematographer/screenwriter Molly Manning Walker is a creative best known for using her work to speak up on prominent issues within society from a unique perspective.
In 2015, Walker collaborated with director Billy Boyd Cape to create a powerful short film titled ‘More Hate Than Fear’ which gave insight on the experience of an unjustly imprisoned graffiti artist as he navigated the first months of his 3 year prison sentence.
Previously, Molly also teamed up with producer Joya Berrow to create the mini-documentary ‘Not With Fire, With Paint’ which explores the impact of the murder of Diego Felipe Beccera — a graphic artist shot in the back by police officers while painting in the streets of Bogota, Colombia during 2011.
Painting by Camilla Rose
The cinematographer is now turning her lens to the subject of rape and is currently working to produce a short film entitled ‘Dark Is Her Shadow’ which is set to explore the emotional, physical and mental traumas and stigmas surrounding sexual assault. “We follow Amy, who is a 16 year-old girl who is trying to resume life after being raped, the day after the incident, she struggles with being provided with little to no guidance while the ghost of her rapist returns to haunt her,” says Walker.
Once a victim of sexual assault herself, she explains that the intention of the film is: “to prevent people from losing eye contact when the word rape is brought up and counteract people from asking victims what we were wearing when we say we were raped.”
In order to raise funds for the film — set to be shot in London this November — Molly has brought together a team of 30 female artists for 30 days of an instagram auction.
Over the span of these thirty days, the donated work of each of these artists will be auctioned off via Walker’s instagram to raise money for the film.
Big Titty Kitty by Netty Hurley
“The film is being funded through Kickstarter and the page will go live on August 29th. Each day we will have a different piece, an image of this piece will go out on instagram, facebook and twitter, the artist will self-evaluate this piece and that will be the starting price. When the image goes up, the followers will have until midnight to bid on each piece. At midnight, the winning bidder will donate to the Kickstarter page and the piece will be marked sold.”
The group of women include illustrator Alice Rosebery-Haynes , music photographer Natalie Wood, portrait photographer Charlotte Ellis, fashion designer Jazz Grant, along with several other poets, painters and talented creatives.
Kids. Gummo. Spring Breakers. Director Harmony Korine’s work needs little in the way of introductions. It is with excitement, then, that we suggest you cancel all forthcoming plans and head for the London Short Film Festival this weekend, to indulge in two days of some of his most potent works. From the aforementioned Gummo, to an adaptation of Harmony Korine’s experimental novel, A Crack Up at the Race Riots by the Belgian collective Leo Gabin, the events are shaping up to be a tad more provocative than your usual Sunday roast.
“When an artist is loved or loathed in equal measure, they must be doing something right.” Says the festival’s artistic director, Philip Ilson in a candid blog post on the event’s website. “Harmony Korine is a filmmaker who is hated by many,” he continues, “his last cinema release, Spring Breakers, definitely felt like a film with a personal hate campaign against it, which must’ve excited him immensely… though I think it’s very likely he didn’t really give a fuck what people thought.”
The above serves as a highlight of the acclaimed film festival, now in it’s 13th year, which kicked off earlier this week. With screenings taking place all over the city – from ICA to the Hackney Picturehouse, Oval Space, Ace Hotel and Round Chapel – other special events includes the tongue-in-cheek Cats&Cats&Cats which promises “the best in classic and contemporary cat cinema”. Miss at your peril.
When Kathryn Bigelow won a bevy of awards including two Oscars for her 2008 film Hurt Locker she made history as the first woman to ever be named best director. That said, three years on the fact remains that women are still marginalised, not to mention underrepresented and oversexualised in cinema.
UnderWire plans to change that. As the UK’s only short film festival dedicated to showcasing women’s work it already has the support of such seminal female creatives as Laura Mulvey, author of Visual and Other Pleasures, Fetishism and Curioisity, journalist Samira Ahmed and Nira Park, producer of Scott Pilgrim v the World and Attack the Block. Established by Gabriella Apicella and Gemma Mitchell in 2010, co-directors of UnderWire 2011 Mitchell and Helen Jack hope to recognise women’s talents through awards, open up the dialogue about women in film and, ultimately, readdress the gender balance within the UK industry.
Comes But Once a Year, dir Justine Barker
(Top) Prohyb, dir Katarina Complova
UnderWire 2011 is at Shortwave cinema and Bermondsey Square Hotel from 23rd – 26th November 2011. See the full programme here
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