BAM presents Punks, Poets, and Valley Girls: Women Filmmakers in 1980s America, Aug 7— 20, groundbreaking works from the underground to Hollywood
July 3, 2019/Brooklyn, NY—From Wednesday, August 7 through Tuesday, August 20, BAM presents Punks, Poets, and Valley Girls: Women Filmmakers in 1980s America, a 14-day, 27-feature, 10-short series that surveys bold works by female filmmakers in a conservative decade, ranging from studio blockbusters to politically radical underground masterpieces. The series builds on BAM’s previous surveys of American women filmmakers.
Following the independent breakthroughs made by women filmmakers in the 1970s, opportunities unseen since the silent era suddenly opened up for (white, straight, cis) women in the studio system in the 1980s. The result was a wave of decade-defining classics by directors like Kathryn Bigelow, Amy Heckerling, and Penny Marshall, who brought a sensitivity to female subjectivity and experience rare in mainstream cinema. Simultaneously, women filmmakers outside Hollywood continued to challenge white, heterocentric, patriarchal notions of narrative, form, and subject as seen in the radical works of the New York downtown scene, the LA Rebellion, and the burgeoning New Queer Cinema movement. These artists—pioneers like Kathleen Collins, Lizzie Borden, and Donna Deitch—defied the Reagan-era status quo to bring their stories and experiences to the screen.
Says series programmer Jesse Trussell, "We’re really excited to build on past series like Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers and A Different Picture: Women Filmmakers in the New Hollywood Era, 1967—1980 with this program. Women have been making films since the very earliest days of the art form but rarely factor into the traditional ‘great man’ narrative of film history. With this series of programs, we are spotlighting these important artists and creating a counter-history of 20th century film.”
The series opens with Penelope Spheeris’ blistering drama of youth in revolt, Suburbia (1983), followed by screenings of her essential documents of LA punk and metal culture, The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) and The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988). The series continues with singular New York films, including Susan Seidelman’s downtown stories in the gritty Smithereens (1982) and the goofball Rivette riff Desperately Seeking Susan (1985); Lizzie Borden’s vision of a radically feminist future, shot guerilla-style on the streets of New York, Born in Flames (1983); and Bette Gordon’s subversive feminist noir set in a Times Square porn house, Variety (1983).
As more women stepped behind the camera, the types of women’s stories onscreen expanded: the series includes the rarely screened gem Twice as Nice (1981), a basketball film by Jessie Maple, the first black woman admitted to New York’s camera operators union; Kathleen Collins’ Losing Ground (1982), a smart, complex exploration of relationships and sexuality, one of the first from the perspective of a black woman director; Joyce Chopra’s unusually dark and ambiguous coming-of-age drama Smooth Talk (1985), starring a then-18-year-old Laura Dern; a groundbreaking verité portrait of Chinese-Americans in the Mississippi Delta, Mississippi Triangle (Choy, Long & Siegel, 1984); pioneering Chicana filmmaker Lourdes Portillo’s playful exploration of Chicanx identity and cultural displacement, La Ofrenda (Portillo & Muñoz, 1989); Navajo Talking Picture (1985), Darlene Bowman’s ambitious and controversial work of indigenous cinema, screening with Camille Billops’ portrait of addiction, Suzanne, Suzanne (Billops & Hatch, 1982); Donna Deitch’s ravishing lesbian love story Desert Hearts (1985); and a program of shorts by black women filmmakers.
The series continues with Allison Anders’ debut feature, the lo-fi road movie Border Radio (Anders, Lent & Voss, 1987); Nancy Savoca’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize-winning anti-romantic comedy True Love (1989); Juliet Bashore’s unsparing porn industry hybrid film Kamikaze Hearts (1986); and Kathryn Bigelow’s cult favorite vampire-biker-western Near Dark (1987). Hollywood favorites include Penny
Marshall’s irresistibly sweet body-swap comedy Big (1988), the first film helmed by a woman to gross over $100 million; Martha Coolidge’s 80s teen comedy Valley Girl (1983); Amy Heckerling’s iconic, multiple-star-launching Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982); Geneviève Robert’s sex-positive romp Casual Sex? (1988); Elaine May’s unjustly maligned road movie comedy Ishtar (1987); Lynne Littman’s quietly shattering nuclear war drama Testament (1983); Mary Lambert’s grisly Stephen King adaptation Pet Sematary (1989),; and Barbra Streisand’s long-gestating passion project, the Michel Legrand-scored Yentl (1983), with which Streisand became the first woman to write, produce, direct, and star in a Hollywood film. Punks, Poets, and Valley Girls rounds out with a program of three LA Rebellion short films—Monona Wali’s Grey Area (1983), Alile Sharon Larkin’s A Different Image (1982); and Julie Dash’s Illusions (1982)—and Sara Driver’s trancelike puzzle film, shot by Jim Jarmusch, Sleepwalk (1986).
For further press information, please contact: Shelley Farmer at 718.724.8023 / [email protected]
Punks, Poets, and Valley Girls: Women Filmmakers in 1980s America Complete Schedule:
Wed, Aug 7 7pm: Suburbia
Thu, Aug 8 7pm: The Decline of Western Civilization 9:30pm: The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years
Fri, Aug 9 N/A
Sat, Aug 10 2pm: Variety 4:30pm: Born in Flames 7pm: Smithereens 9:30pm: Desperately Seeking Susan
Sun, Aug 11 2pm: Crossing Delancey 4:15pm: Smooth Talk 6:15pm: Twice as Nice 8:30pm: Losing Ground
Mon, Aug 12 7pm: La Ofrenda 8:30pm: Missippi Triangle
Tue, Aug 13 7pm: Black Women’s Short Films 9:30pm: Suzanne, Suzanne + Navajo Talking Picture
Wed, Aug 14 7pm, 9pm: Desert Hearts
Thu, Aug 15 7pm: Kamikaze Hearts 9:30pm: True Love
Fri, Aug 16
7pm: Near Dark 9:15pm: Border Radio
Sat, Aug 17 2pm: Casual Sex? 4:30pm: Big 7pm: Valley Girl 9:15pm: Fast Times at Ridgemont High
Sun, Aug 18 2pm: Ishtar 4:15pm: Yentl 7pm: Testament 9pm: Pet Sematary + Mary Lambert Music Videos
Mon, Aug 19 7pm: LA Rebellion Short Films
Tue, Aug 20 7pm: Sleepwalk
About BAM Film
Since 1998 BAM Rose Cinemas has been Brooklyn’s premiere film destination. Combining new releases with year- round repertory and specialty programming, the mission of BAM Film is to present nimble, responsive, and engaged film programming that centers marginalized artists and challenges prevailing narratives. The program continues BAM’s tradition of presenting bold work from adventurous artists to adventurous audiences. The four- screen venue hosts festivals of films from around the world, often with special appearances by directors, actors, and other guests. BAM has programmed major retrospectives of filmmakers like Spike Lee, Chantal Akerman, Marlon Riggs, Jonathan Demme, and Claire Denis. Since 2009 the program has also produced BAMcinemaFest, New York’s home for vital new work in American independent film.
Credits:
Leadership support for BAM Film programs provided by The Thompson Family Foundation
Support for A Year of Resistance, amplifying marginalized voices in cinema, provided by The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
BAM Rose Cinemas would also like to acknowledge the generous support of The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams, Brooklyn Delegation of the New York City Council, New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, New York State Council on the Arts, and Bloomberg
Delta Air Lines is the Official Airline of BAM
The Brooklyn Hospital Center is the Official Healthcare Provider of BAM
Your tax dollars make BAM programs possible through funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature. The BAM facilities are owned by the City of New York and benefit from public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs with support from Mayor Bill de Blasio; Cultural Affairs Commissioner Tom Finkelpearl; the New York City Council including Council Speaker Corey Johnson, Finance Committee Chair Julissa Ferreras, Cultural Affairs Committee Chair Jimmy Van Bramer, Councilmember Laurie Cumbo, and the Brooklyn Delegation of the Council; and Brooklyn Borough President Eric L. Adams. BAM would like to thank the Brooklyn Delegations of the New York State Assembly, Joseph R. Lentol, Delegation Leader; and New York Senate, Senator Velmanette Montgomery.
Special thanks to: Bret Berg/AGFA; Jason Leaf/Avatar Films; John Klacsman/Anthology Film Archives; Jonathan Hertzberg/Kino Repertory; Dennis Doros & Amy Heller Doros/Milestone Films; Todd Wiener & Steven Hill/UCLA Film;
Elena Rossi-Snook/New York Public Library; Brian Belovarac, Ben Crossley-Marra & Emily Woodburne/Janus Films; Roselly Torres/Third World Newsreel; Lourdes Portillo; Harry Guerro; Veronica Neely/20th Century Fox; Jason Jackowski/Universal Pictures; Dave Jennings/Sony Pictures Repertory; Edda Manriquez/Academy Film Archive; Jack Durwood/Paramount Pictures; Sara Driver; Kristen Fitzpatrick/Women Make Movies; Julie Dash; Chris Chouinard/Park Circus
General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place (between Lafayette Ave and Hanson Place), houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas features first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM
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