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Girl Picture
July 25, 2023 | 7:00 pm
Photo by: Ilkka Saastamoinen
Copyright: Citizen Jane Productions
Pictured (from l-r): Eleonoora Kauhanen, Aamu Milonoff, Linnea Leino
The Nancy Tafeen Global Film Series
The theme of this year’s series is “Through a Female Lens”
“Throughout the world, the male-dominated field of film directing is slowly changing. Women are writing, directing and producing more films than ever before. Our series will highlight four outstanding examples of a feminine perspective being brought to cinematic storytelling.” — Dale Pollock
All films in the series feature an introduction and a post-film Q&A with curator Dale Pollock.
Girl Picture
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In Finnish/French with English subtitles
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Finland, unrated, directed by Alli Haapasalo, 2022, romance, 100 minutes
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Best friends Mimmi and Rönkkö have each other’s backs, always. They want to live adventurous lives, loaded with experiences and passion. Emma, on the contrary, has given her whole life to figure skating. Nothing gets between her and success. But when the girls meet, life opens new paths, and they all rocket in new directions. While Mimmi and Emma experience the earth moving effects of first love, Rönkkö is on a quest to find pleasure.
Director’s Note — Alli Haapasalo
Girl Picture is a film about the need to be seen.
17–18-year-old Mimmi, Emma and Rönkkö are girls at what I call a liminal age: right at the cusp of womanhood, fluctuating between childhood and adulthood. At this age, the gaze of another person feels like a superpower — it can define, strengthen or change one’s self image in an instant. Closeness with the other is very inviting; it hooks us. And then suddenly, an overwhelming realization takes over: how to be close to another person, if you’re only just drawing your own contours?
Our story follows the girls on three consecutive Fridays, during which Mimmi and Emma experience the earth-moving impact of falling in love, while Rönkkögoes on a quest for something she hasn’t yet experienced: pleasure. The condensed timeframe means it’s a fragment of their lives. But because teenagers’ lives are so amplified, and every moment counts for everything, a fragment may very well encapsulate a whole universe.
And there, in center of the universe emerges the picture of “me”.
Of the film’s many themes, the one that became the most important for me is the safe freedom of the girls. Mimmi, Emma and Rönkkö get to concentrate on exploring their identities without any threats. They catapult at full speed toward emotions, situations and sexuality, on their own terms — and they never end up in danger. They are not punished for desiring. They don’t get warned, belittled, shamed or patronized.
In that sense, this is perhaps more a film about the world we aspire for, than the world we live in. And that’s why Girl Picture invites us not only to look at girls, but to really see them.
LOCATION: Schaefer Center for the Performing Arts, 733 Rivers St., Boone, NC 28608
FOR MORE INFORMATION: Contact the Box Office at theschaefercenter@appstate.edu or call 800-841-2787 or 828-262-4046.
ACCOMMODATION STATEMENT: Appalachian is committed to providing an inclusive experience for individuals with disabilities. If accommodations are needed in order to fully participate on the basis of a disability, contact the Office of Disability Resources (828.262.3056). It is recommended that accommodation requests be made two weeks prior to the event.
TICKETS:
$10
SHOWTIME:
Tuesday, July 25, 2023 | 7pm (with pre-film introduction)
Meet the Curator — Dale Pollock
Dale M. Pollock, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, received a BA in Anthropology from Brandeis University in 1972 and a MS in Communications from San Jose State University. In 1977, he became the head film critic for Daily Variety until he was hired by the Los Angeles Times to be their chief entertainment correspondent. He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in the early 1980s and wrote Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas in 1983, which has sold more than 150,000 copies and remains in print. In 1985, Pollock joined David Geffen’s company as a development executive, where he discovered the scripts for Beetlejuice, The Burbs and Universal Soldier. He joined A&M Films as vice president in charge of production, and was named president in 1990, producing such films as The Beast, The Mighty Quinn, A Midnight Clear and Mrs. Winterbourne. Pollock ran his own film company, Peak Productions, for 10 years, producing the box office hit Set It Off. He co-founded the producing program at the American Film Institute in 1995. In 1999, he became Dean of the School of Filmmaking at the (then) North Carolina School of the Arts, stepping down in 2006 to become Professor of Cinema Studies. He was awarded Emeritus status in 2019 and served as Interim Dean for nine months in 2021. Pollock was awarded an Endowed Professorship in Film in his name at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking in 2014 and is the 2016 recipient of the UNC Board of Governors Award for Teaching Excellence. He also received the 2020 Arts Council of Winston Salem’s Annual Award, its highest honor. Pollock’s first work of fiction, Chopped: A Novel, was published in March 2023, and is available on Amazon and at bookstores everywhere.
