Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts Department of English and American Studies English Language and Literature Soňa Šašinková The Films that Made it: Independent Canadian Women Filmmakers and the Recipe for Success Master‟s Diploma Thesis Supervisor: doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. 2011 I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography. …………………………………………….. Author‟s signature ii I would like to thank my supervisor doc. PhDr. Tomáš Pospíšil, Dr. for his valuable help and patience. iii Table of Contents Introduction ................................................................................................................................ 3 1 Directors and Plot Summaries ............................................................................................ 6 1.1 Patricia Rozema: Her Life and Work ......................................................................... 6 1.2 I've Heard the Mermaids Singing – Plot Summary .................................................... 8 1.3 Lynne Stopkewich: Her Life and Work ..................................................................... 9 1.4 Kissed – Plot Summary ............................................................................................ 11 1.5 Anne Wheeler: Her Life and Work .......................................................................... 12 1.6 Better Than Chocolate – Plot Overview .................................................................. 14 2 Issues and Aspects of Feminist Filmmaking .................................................................... 17 2.1 Feminism and Absence of Male Figures in I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing ....... 19 2.2 Sandra, Subject and Object of ‘Gaze’ – Feminist Aspects of Kissed ...................... 21 2.3 Male Characters in Better Than Chocolate .............................................................. 22 3 Relationships and the Themes of Desire and Sexuality ................................................... 27 3.1 Polly’s (A)sexuality and the Images of Desire ......................................................... 28 3.2 The Unlikely Love Triangle – Relationships and Sexuality in Kissed .................... 31 3.3 Relationships and Desire in Better Than Chocolate ................................................ 33 4 Character Development .................................................................................................... 36 4.1 Polly Vandersma, the ‘Lone Heroine’ ...................................................................... 38 4.2 Warming Up to the Living ....................................................................................... 40 4.3 The Daughter’s Coming Out and the Mother’s Journey to Enlightenment ............. 42 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................ 45 Bibliography ............................................................................................................................. 52 1 2 Introduction Norman Jewison once posed a question which addresses an issue that – though central to the very concept of filmmaking – is rarely discussed among film scholars: “how will the films created by [Canadian] filmmakers find their way to the cinema and television screens of the world” (Posner vii)? There can be no doubt that there are many great Canadian film directors; furthermore, thanks to NFB policy and government subsidy opportunities, Canada may well boast an especially large number of independent filmmakers. In the face of such variety, Jewison‟s question seems all the more substantiated. In 1993 Michael Posner published a book which details the making, production, and development of ten independent Canadian feature films, providing valuable insight into their casting, photography and distribution. The films selected and discussed by Posner in Canadian Dreams: The Making and Marketing of Independent Films all fulfil the following criteria: firstly, they are all made by Canadian directors, secondly, they are – for the most part at least – relatively low- budget productions, and thirdly, they “each [have] a strong and instructive story to tell” (Posner xi). One of the ten films explored in detail in Posner‟s book is a film by Patricia Rozema I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987). Second film that has undergone a successful journey of distribution is Lynne Stopkewich‟s Kissed (1996). The third and final feature film which will form the group of three successful independent Canadian films to be discussed on the following pages is Better Than Chocolate directed by Anne Wheeler. The reason for choosing the above mentioned directors and their films was based on them being those examples of Canadian works of cinematography which, despite their low production costs, earned critical acclaim, received numerous awards, 3 gained box-office success and sparked the interest of a broad spectrum of viewers. The most significant common features shared by the three films are the directors‟ nationality and gender. Rozema, Stopkewich and Wheeler are filmmakers who share an interest in casting women as the main characters of their film narratives. Furthermore, each of the selected films deals with relationships and love in a distinct and non-traditional way: the topics of lesbian love and trans-sexuality are presented in Better Than Chocolate, Kissed focuses on necrophilia and I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing centres on leading a fantasy life and relationships between women. Moreover, there is a notion of omnipresent „strangeness‟ and a sense of alienation from society in the representations of the films‟ heroines – all three of them have a character and/or sexual trait which isolates them from their families and peers. The aim of the thesis is to find and define the strategies employed in the making of the three films in question, especially with respect to their appearance in Canadian and international cinemas and their audience appeal, along with their gaining a certain measure of critical acclaim. In order to do so, the thesis will identify and discuss the essential “ingredients” involved. Furthermore, I will also address the issue of certain restrictions all of these filmmakers have had to tackle as well as exploring how they managed to overcome them. The first chapter will introduce the three filmmakers. A brief overview of their personal background, work, and achievements will be followed by a plot description of the three films – in chronological order of their releases: Mermaids, Kissed and Chocolate. In the second chapter, the question of feminist criticism of the three films will be dealt with. I will make an attempt to define and analyze the position of male figures, and the issue of feminine gaze as introduced by a feminist film critic Laura Mulvey. Before the actual analysis, the key terms and ideas of Mulvey‟s essay Visual Pleasure and the Narrative Cinema (1975) which serves as a basis for the films‟ reading in terms of feminist criticism, will be presented. The following chapter will be dedicated to the exploration of the common themes of desire, types of relationship as depicted in each film. The 4 fourth chapter will focus on the character development of Polly in Mermaids, Sandra in Kissed and Maggie and Lila in Chocolate. In the final and concluding section, I will summarize the acquired notions from each film‟s analysis. I will make an attempt to identify the strategies or „ingredients‟ used by the directors and deployed in the making of the films in question. Most importantly I seek the answer to Norman Jewison‟s question. 5 1 Directors and Plot Summaries This chapter will focus on introducing the three Canadian women filmmakers and their work. The directors are discussed in chronological order of the making and releases of their work chosen for the thesis. Moreover, each of the films‟ plot summary is presented in each subchapter. 1.1 Patricia Rozema: Her Life and Work Patricia Rozema was born in 1958 in Kingston, Ontario, her parents were strict Dutch Calvinists who believed in protecting their daughter from any outside harmful influences, resulting in her having seen her first film, The Exorcist at the cinema at the age of 16, certainly creating an experience notable for the filmmaker‟s future work. Eventually, Rozema dealt with the topic of her strict upbringing in one of her later features When Night is Falling (1995). Rozema majored in philosophy and journalism at Calvin College in Michigan, where she became aware of her sexual orientation and experienced her own coming out. After graduating, she worked as a journalist, followed by a job in theatre for a period of time, as well as in television in Chicago, New York and Toronto before she took a five-week course in film production and began the career of a filmmaker. One of her first film experiences included cooperating on David Cronenberg‟s The Fly (1986) as his third and second assistant director1. Patricia Rozema‟s first project, Passion: A Letter in 16mm, made in 1985, gained an award at the Chicago Film Festival. Passion is a short feature portraying a successful business woman Anna (Linda Griffiths) whose personal and love life are affected by her belief in a strict ethical code. 1 Taken from Michael Posner's Canadian Dreams (1993), which served as a valuable and most informative source of information and observation on Mermaids. 6 I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) is Rozema‟s first feature

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