Alumni films screen at Mill Valley

Posted Mon, 10/06/2008 - 8:57am by Matt Itelson

Feminism, diversity and disabilities dominate three documentaries by Cinema Department alumni screening at the 31st Mill Valley Film Festival, through Oct. 12.

Kara Herold's "Bachelorette, 34" focuses on the single filmmaker's relationship with her mother, who is obsessed that her daughter be married before time runs out. The film tells its story entirely through excerpts from “how-to” dating films from the 1950s and 1960s, home movies and taped conversations between Herold and her mother. In the film, Herold (M.F.A., '00) examines the pressure society puts on women to find “Mr. Right.”

Jay Rosenblatt (M.A., '88) is among Herold's filmmaking influences. His 10-minute film "I Just Wanted To Be Somebody" is an open letter to Anita Bryant, the American pop singer and former beauty queen who led a crusade against homosexuality. Rosenblatt is noted for his use of found footage to illustrate society's most profound emotional and psychological issues. "Bachelorette, 34" and "I Just Wanted To Be Somebody" screen Oct. 6 and 11.

"Benji and Judah," by Hannah Guggenheim (M.F.A, '03), explores one East Bay mother's patience and persistence to give her wheelchair-bound twin sons and their five siblings a home. The twin sons suffer from spina bifida. "Benji and Judah" screens Oct. 11 in the festival's "The Home in My Heart" program.

Founded by California Film Institute director Mark Fishkin, the Mill Valley Film Festival has established a track record for launching new films and new filmmakers and offering a high-profile, prestigious, noncompetitive environment for celebrating the best in independent and world cinema.

Image: courtesy of Kara Herold