Growing up in the mountains of Central Idaho, I was not exposed to cinema. We didn't have television in my home, and the nearest movie theater was 75 miles away. (There was originally a movie theater in my town, but it burned down.)
But I did grow up with the arts — artisans, storytellers, and mountain musicians. I was also greatly inspired by the landscape surrounding us. (Let's just call it scenic poverty.) It was wonderful, although I don't know that I truly appreciated it until I had moved far away and come back. My formative years became such an important part of my outlook, my inspiration, and my desire to tell stories.
It was during college that I learned that you could tell a story with the moving image, and it wasn't that complicated. I transferred into the film school, and after that, made my way to L.A. To this day, I will never forget the day I drove into Los Angeles with the intention of making a go of it.
And 30 years later, here I am.
I've had the good fortune of working with amazing storytellers, and I can see that many of the films I've been in service to [like 2008's Frozen River, 2016's Tallulah, and this year's Fancy Dance] have a common thread: they make you feel. Maybe they make you feel something you haven't felt before, or they take you into a world you haven't known, and a world you may learn from.
Directed and Written by: Bryan Forbes
I was a horse girl. I had a horse at age seven or eight, and I rode every day from that point on. There weren't that many horse girl movies, so when my grandmother took me to see International Velvet — at the movie theater 75 miles away — it was a transcendent experience. I was taken there, and when (spoiler alert) the horse died, I was wailing in the theater. I was hysterical. I cannot handle anything happening to a horse, so it was a traumatic, cinematic experience.
Directed by: Lou Adler | Written by: Tommy Chong and Cheech Marin
I've still never laughed so hard in my life. I loved Cheech & Chong. They were amazing, and they spoke to my soul. Growing up, everyone in my life smoked weed, half my family grew it, and I was well familiar. So, I had cultural competency, and this film had me feel "seen" in my life — that, and I love car movies.
Directed by: Nicolas Winding Refn | Written by: Hossein Amini
Speaking of car movies, I love Drive. I rewatch it often. There is something so sublime, so effortless, and so strong about it. It's perfect, really. The film moves with such rhythm, and Gosling's performance is perfect. All of the cast is perfect. And the Cliff Martinez score is one that I still hold as supreme.
Directed by: Bob Rafelson | Written by: Adrien Joyce
The cinema of the 1970s never leaves you, and neither does the music. There was something about the cultural movement of the time that was so impactful, and it came through the filmmakers of the era. Bob Rafelson was one of those filmmakers. (He also made The Postman Always Rings Twice, another masterful work.) Five Easy Pieces and so many of its peers spoke to something in the society in a profound and truthful way. Storytellers were bold during this time and frankly unapologetic, and many were supported by the studios. It was a different time.
Directed by: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre | Written by: Laure de Clermont-Tonnerre, Mona Fastvold and Brock Norman Brock
The Mustang and its subject went straight for my heart. As I said, I am a horse person. I believe in them, and could never get enough of the cinema of horses. So, Laure de Clermont Tonnerre's film about a prison rehabilitation program with wild horses met me at a soul level. It is a verité film with real players woven through the fabric of the approach. This is one of my most valued forms of filmmaking: bringing truth into the realms of make-believe. The raw emotion and deep availability of the characters is incredible. This film blew me away.
