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"Who Does She Think She Is" premieres in Houston: Interview with co-director Nancy Kennedy
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Well you know you're never going to be taken seriously because you're a woman and a mother
Historically women have struggled with trying to navigate nontraditional roles. Especially those that took them out of the home or down unbeaten paths. For many, once they'd had children, that was seen as the limit. Any endeavors or dreams they had before were put on hold or thrown over altogether to raise their children.
Those women who tried to have both a career and a family life were routinely denigrated as selfish and unfit. Though things have changed for women in many ways, female artists in our culture still struggle from lack of meaningful support. For those female artists who also happen to have children, the ante is upped even more.
Navigating the path to one's artistry and raising a family both require enormous sacrifice and dedication. For many women the rigors of trying to do both becomes too much and they give up their art. There are some who stay the course.
"Who Does She Think She Is" is a documentary film by Pamela Tanner Boll and co-directed by Nancy Kennedy that explores the stories of five such women. These women are living their lives as mothers and artists. They share the struggles, the gains and losses their choice has netted them.
The film also explores America's treatment of the female artist from a historical perspective as well as her place America's artistic movement.
Co-Director and Filmmaker Nancy Kennedy will be in Houston on Saturday, May 9, 2009 for a screening of the film and a Q & A session, at the Museum of Fine Art(MFA) in the Caroline Weiss Law Building at 1001 Bissonnet St at 7pm. An encore screening will be held Sunday, May 10, 2009 at 3 pm. Tickets are $7 for adults. For more information or to purchase tickets please click the link below:
MFA - “Who Does She Think She Is” Information
Kennedy took time out of her schedule for an interview about the film.
Q. Thank you for taking the time to speak with me today. This is a wonderful premise for a film. Tell me about “Who Does She Think She Is?”
A. Being a mother and an artist are both very demanding. Being a mother demands your whole self and being an artist also requires huge amounts of energy. Female artists expend these incredible amounts of energy without being paid very much for their efforts. We say we value art but we don't support it. This is especially true for female artists. Also while we idealize motherhood we don't give them the support systems they need.
The movie follows the story of five women and their struggles to juggle motherhood and their art. We also look at the history of women in the arts and argue that giving women an equal chance to express themselves artistically would benefit everyone.
Q. I've noticed that many women don't believe it's possible to do both. Just the other day someone said to me that she didn't want to be a mother because so many of her own dreams were yet to be realized.
A. As women we don't have very good role models to show us the way. Or we're not aware of how many women have struggled with these same issues before us. Many times people ask my advice as to whether they should pursue film. They worry about what it will require of them. I always say yes, to go ahead and do it. They are not really asking about the choice, what they are really asking is should they do it. I always say yes. I mean, I came across people who told me not to do it. I was like, 'how dare they say I can't do that'. You just have to go for what you want.
One of my worries with the film was that younger women might be discouraged that some marriages break up in the course of the film. And it's sad but the facts are that 50% of marriages end in divorce across the board. But overwelmingly women, young and old, have been very inspired by the film. We've gotten great feedback at the previous screenings.
Kennedy is an award winning filmmaker, editor and producer, in her own right who collaborated with Academy award winning documentary filmmaker Pamela Tanner Boll.
Q. Were you involved with the project from the beginning or did you come on later?
A. I came in later. Pam Boll came to me, having already worked on the film. She was worried that she didn't have a broad enough story. Together we broadened the film to include historical and contextual points. I gave it a twist of a different vision.
This was always Pam's baby. Pam had already found the five women. Pam was an artist in her own right and found it very difficult to continue her art and raise her three sons. She eventually had to put her art to the side, but she never gave it up altogetther. She came across these women who were also dealing with the demands of being mothers and artists and she decided to make this film about them. Maye Torres was the first woman she met and they had a kinship because they were both raising three sons. [Maye's son's are featured in the movie along with context of the lessons they are being taught about being willing to take a risk for your passion as well as being supportive of female artistry].
While the film is a serious look at this subject, we tried to include some fun things about worshiping women as goddesses. In ancient cultures Mother earth and women were worshiped as goddesses.
“Who Does She Think She Is” highlights the disproportional percentage of male artists to female artists. While many art classes are made up of over 70% women, the actual working artists that are being shown in galleries and museums are overwhelmingly male. The film explores the dichotomy of women who are striving to show their art and yet not even being seen as an integral part of the artistic world. Though many of the women are aware of these tall odds, they are still drawn inexorably to pursue the dream. Angela Williams one of the film's subjects describes this pull as “a calling and the call keeps getting louder and I have to answer."
Q. Were you trying to show how women have been purposely marginalized as artists and how some, just through their ignorance have been guilty of this marginalization?
A. Both of those things, really. The art world definitely marginalizes women's art because they don't think it has any value. In fact, women artists weren't even included in art history books until 1986. Even then only 16 names were included. These are art history books taught in classes all across the country, we're talking about.
Very few women are exhibited. Only 3 – 4 %. This begs the question, how do you get your art out? Even with galleries that have female curators the number of women who are actually shown is incredibly low. They have to, I guess, abide by the demands of the museum. The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), in New York City, just finished a large renovation. Even they are only showing somewhere around 4% female artists. It's very difficult for female artists.
The film further illuminates the fact that the path many of these women are treading is fraught with loneliness and despair. The depth of this is encapsulated by Angela Williams when she says of her journey, "I am in the middle of a forest, there are no paths I have no companions and I hear wolves." Williams is a wife and mother of two who at 30 years old answered the call of the stage and auditioned for Broadway.
The film is being screened in a number of cities. Please check the website http://wdstsi.wordpress.com/upcoming-screenings/ for more information.
To find out more about these women's journeys, to get more information about times or to see the theatrical trailer please follow the link below.
Q. Any final thoughts
A. Though some things are changing there is still so much more to be done.
Join filmmaker Nancy Kennedy for a post-film reception at Ernie´s on Banks (1010 Banks) from 9:00-10:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 9, 2009. Phone Number (713)526-4566. Map to 1010 Banks
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