"The Woodmans" opens at Film Forum in New York on January 19.
It’s been 30 years since photographer Francesca Woodman took her own life, at the age of 22, but she remains as compelling a presence as ever. Compelling and mysterious. Now Woodman—who was so often the subject of her ethereal black-and-white photos—is being seen through the lens of another. In The Woodmans, which opens at the Film Forum in New York next week, filmmaker C. Scott Willis offers his own portrait of the young artist, as well as of her parents.
From Film Forum:
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Francesca Woodman’s haunting B&W images, many of them nude self-portraits, now reside in the pantheon of great photography from the late 20th century. The daughter of artists Betty and George Woodman (she a ceramicist and he a painter/ photographer), Francesca was a precocious RISD graduate, who came to New York with the intention of setting the art world on fire. But in 1981, as a despondent 22-year-old, she committed suicide. THE WOODMANS beautifully interweaves the young artist’s work (including experimental videos and diary passages) with interviews with the parents who have nurtured her professional reputation these past 30 years, while continuing to make art of their own in the face of tragedy. The film grapples with disturbing issues, among them: parent-child competition and the toxic level of ambition that fuels the New York art scene. Says Betty Woodman succinctly: “She’s the famous artist and we’re the famous artist’s family.”
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Sounds intriguing on many levels. The Woodmans won the Best New York Documentary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it made its world premiere last year. You can view the trailer at the movie’s official site. Click here to read an interview with the director at the New York Times‘ T Magazine blog.
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Capturing “The Woodmans”
"The Woodmans" opens at Film Forum in New York on January 19.
It’s been 30 years since photographer Francesca Woodman took her own life, at the age of 22, but she remains as compelling a presence as ever. Compelling and mysterious. Now Woodman—who was so often the subject of her ethereal black-and-white photos—is being seen through the lens of another. In The Woodmans, which opens at the Film Forum in New York next week, filmmaker C. Scott Willis offers his own portrait of the young artist, as well as of her parents.
From Film Forum:
.
.
Sounds intriguing on many levels. The Woodmans won the Best New York Documentary Award at the Tribeca Film Festival, where it made its world premiere last year. You can view the trailer at the movie’s official site. Click here to read an interview with the director at the New York Times‘ T Magazine blog.
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