Female Empowerment at The Beverly Hills Film Festival: Red Carpet Highlights
Written by Daphne Bryant
All images courtesy of Natasha Cohen and Livia Wippich/The Beverly Hills Film Festival
This past week the Beverly Hills Film Festival had its 25th anniversary at the iconic TCL Chinese Theaters, where writers, directors, producers, actors and filmmakers from all walks of life celebrated their cinematic achievements and graced the red carpet.
In the spirit of platforming marginalized gender identities, the team at Dreamworldgirl Zine set out to speak with and learn from as many fresh storytellers as possible. While there are more women than ever working in film, the industry remains significantly male-dominated and systemically oppressive. We were pleasantly surprised to see so many women and queer filmmakers at the BHFF, and we loved hearing their stories.
Screened on Opening Night and directed by Lauri Levenfeld and Grace Wethor, Vespertine, is a short film all about sisterhood, empowerment and female revenge, as well as midlife reinvention. It stands out for its clever spin on putting yourself first, as well as its all female or queer cast and crew.
Kate French, who plays Cassie in Vespertine, chatted with us about what it felt like to be in such a female-dominated space, after playing a recurring character on The L Word years ago:“ None of us had met before and it was pretty much instant friendship. We had one day, before filming, where we spent [the entire day] together. It was like an instant bond, which is rare. It was great to be in that kind of space again, and my character Cassie’s like [Niki from The L Word] in a lot of ways.”
Sydney Veronica Lee, who plays a young version of the main character V and arrived in a stunning, repurposed prom dress, also lets us in a bit more to the world of Vespertine.“ [The film] is about female empowerment, most importantly, but also forgiveness, friendship and love. There’s singing and dancing and everything, so you really can’t go wrong!”
The American, a student film that was also screened on the 1st day of the festival features Holly Cinnamon, a gender-fluid femme and jack of all trades with experience in acting, singing and music production. In The American, Cinnamon plays a character named Mrs. Candy.“ [Mrs. Candy] is a little unsuspecting at first, but she has a kind of dark, more twisted side.” In response to the racism the main character faces in school, Mrs. Candy laughs along and does not at all respond the way you’d hope a teacher would. Her actions end up haunting the main character’s nightmares for the rest of his life, and the film urges audiences to reflect on their own biases, discriminatory actions, and the consequences of them. Now more than ever, The American is deeply relevant.
On Night 2 we had the honor of speaking with Heather Brumley, who directed, wrote and produced the documentary After the Bomb. After the Bomb focuses on two women permanently disabled as adults by violence in Northern Ireland known as the Troubles. When asked about her favorite part of filming, Brumley gushed about the dynamic between these two women, Jennifer and Margaret.“ Jennifer, my main participant, doesn’t have any legs, she’s in a wheelchair. And Margaret, her friend, she’s blind, she was blinded by a bomb. So they have a really fun relationship: Margaret pushes the wheelchair, and Jennifer tells her where to go!” stated Brumley. Brumley came to this film with open arms, an open mind and a genuine desire to platform disabled voices and draw attention to a negligent government that turned their back on victims and survivors of the Troubles. Her pure enthusiasm and care shines through the film. Brumley’s advice for aspiring documentary filmmakers? Preparation and planning.“ You want to try to visualize as much ahead of time what you’re going to do, and the world’s your oyster. What do you want the opening and closing to be? What’s your storyline and act structure? Where are you going to take your character arcs? Try to get all of that down, and then know that some of it is going to change in the edit!”
On Night 4 Hannah Sulak, who played the titular character in June, stopped to chat with us about her role in the film.“ June is kind of a complex, kind of grungy character. She has figured out her life to a point where I think she’s ready to leave her childhood behind, but still has deep love for her childhood still,” stated Sulak, who then went on to discuss how powerful themes of nature were in June, both conceptually and for her character.“ You know how people often say they go through a wilderness season? Even though the nature was beautiful, it kind of swallowed up the characters in a way and made them fall in the midst of what they were experiencing.” Sulak’s thoughts and insights into the characters of this coming of age film stuck with us for the entire night.
The producer of June, Taylor Burke, mentioned that getting to celebrate the film and all of their hard work at the BHFF is a special moment, one of her favorite moments of the filmmaking process.“ [Also] getting to work with [Sofia Higgins (Production Manager)] and [Joo Yeon Yoo (Assistant Director)]; we all went to college together, we went to film school at UC Santa Barbara. Getting to create this all together and have such a great support system is the best.”
As the night went on we were able to catch the starring actress of Adelaida, Flavia Carbone, who spoke with us about her time playing a young Nicaraguan woman who flees into the jungle. It was a great challenge as an actor, with many scenes being filmed in harsh conditions and weather, but Carbone went in with a lot of confidence.“ There wasn’t a lot of dialogue and I constantly trained, so I felt really good when it came to shooting. Having that muscle, working all the time, prepares you to do things that are out of your comfort zone,” she stated.
We also spoke with Sofia Masson (producer) and Malak Dabcha, who wrote, directed and starred in I Used to Love the Night, a short film about Dabcha’s real life experience with armed robbery.“ Putting [myself] in that situation again, but with agency and with control it feels a little different, and it’s super healing,” stated Dabcha. Masson, who self-identifies as Dabcha’s best friend (<3) and wore a complimentary navy blue outfit, praised the script and the flow between cast and crew, driving home the power and beauty of being able to create with people that you love and cherish.
Night 5, and our last night of press, brought strong cultural stories that resonated deeply.
Traveling Mercies is a short film about two Black high school students who have different attitudes about the daily microaggressions they experience in Texas. Madison Trice, who wrote and starred in the film, shared a bit about what inspired the story: “[Traveling Mercies] was inspired by my time at a predominantly white private school in Houston, and seeing different instances of racism that occurred throughout me and my friends’ time there, but also seeing the solidarity and beauty of the community, and the diversity of the city of Houston as well.” POC students from anywhere and everywhere will surely see themselves in Trice’s character, but Houston has a special place in her heart.“ It mattered to me that the other lead actors were people from Houston. I tried to ground [the film] in that experience of being a Houston teenager,” stated Trice.
We also chatted with Valeria Silva, an Afro-Brazilian actress and activist who starred in and produced Stairs of Love (Escadaria do Amor), a film that peels back the racial and circumstantial layers of a relationship. When asked about the beauty of DIY, something so intrinsic to our identity as a zine, Silva had great advice that all artists should internalize:“ Make your own stuff! If you have an idea, want to do something, or play something, get a team together, [work with] your friends. There are always people willing to help!”
Later on in the night Gabi Kessler, who starred in, directed and wrote I Don’t, spoke candidly about her short film, which is all about a runaway bride. I Don’t was inspired by a Pinterest image Kessler had found in high school of a girl at a diner, eating Cheetos with a full veil:“ I was obsessed with how messy and paradoxical it was. I had a dream about it and I was like: oh shit! I think there’s something here. I sort of split the girl [the main character] always thought she was going to be and then the person she really is into a short film.” A reminder never to underestimate the influence of Pinterest, or our dreams! Kessler also talked about how great it was to call the shots for I Don’t.“ As a female writer and director there aren’t a lot of us, and in many situations over the course of [the filmmaking] I was the only girl in the room, and it was really cool to have a lot of people listening to me!” she stated.
Finally, Smahi Anand, director and writer of Silent Cycle (which was actually her thesis project), spoke with our zine about the stigma of menstruation in India and how it affects women and young girls.“ My inspiration is honestly my personal experiences. I grew up in a house where menstruation was considered taboo. I wanted to dive deep into why women are treated in such a way in India, why something so natural to a woman is kept so hush,” she stated. In the future Anand, who mostly writes women-driven films, hopes to write a more lighthearted feature comedy about a woman in a profession such as golfing or dancing.
This was an unforgettable week at the Beverly Hills Film Festival, as they celebrated 25 years and we rang in our first red carpet. We were so blessed to see amazing art on such a global scale, and to speak with talented women and queer individuals who are passionate about their craft and the future of cinema. Whether the films were about female rage, restitution, or civil rights for all, themes of girlhood shone brightly throughout, and we can’t wait to see what these wonderful creatives do next.
