THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN New Auteurs

THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN

Talent attending: Kathleen Hepburn (Director), Violet Nelson (Talent), Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers (Director)

Young, pregnant, and barefoot in the street, Rosie (Elle-Maija Tailfeathers) is being accosted by her abusive boyfriend when Aila comes to her aid.  Aila is everything Rosie is not — middle class, mild mannered — but the two women come together in an almost wordless bond. Aila then proceeds to take young Rosie to her home to help her recover from the traumatic afternoon.  Tailfeathers does triple duty here as the lead, co-director and writer, basing the story on an actual incident from her life.  Echoing such classic feminist masterpieces as CLÉO FROM 5-7 or JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 COMMERCE QUAY, 1080 BRUSSELS; newcomer Tailfeathers creates her own distinct visual aesthetic with this closely observed intimate portrait. The resulting film is a quiet and hushed story told in tiny tones, in released long held breaths and quiet looks. With her co-writer and do-director Kathleen Hepburn, these two women have crafted a deeply human film, a maternal film, a film about neighbors. and shared spaces and car rides and softly singing to your belly in the bathroom. –Lane Kneedler

Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers is Blackfoot from the Kainai First Nation and Sámi from northern Norway. She has directed the short films BLOODLAND (2011), A RED GIRL’S REASONING (2012) and REBEL (2014), and the documentary THE CITY BEFORE THE CITY (2017). THE BODY REMEMBERS WHEN THE WORLD BROKE OPEN is her narrative feature debut.

Kathleen Hepburn was born in Vancouver. She holds an MFA in creative writing from the University of Guelph and graduated from the Writer’s Lab at the Canadian Film Centre. Her short film NEVER STEADY, NEVER STILL (2015) screened at the Toronto International Film Festival, as did her debut feature of the same title (2017), which was named to TIFF’s Canada’s Top Ten.

Tilane Jones
ARRAY
tilane@arraynow.com
213-977-9020

Details

Country: Canada, Norway

Year: 2019

Directors: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn

Screenwriters: Kathleen Hepburn, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers

Producers: Tyler Hagan, Lori Lozinski, Dyveke Bjørkly Graver, Alan R. Milligan

Executive Producers: Tyler Hagan, Lori Lozinski, Yvonne Huff, Matthew Soraci, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kathleen Hepburn, Alan R. Milligan, Jason Delane Lee

Director of Photography: Norm Li

Editor: Christian Siebenherz

Production Designers: Liz Cairns, Sophie Jarvis

Music: Øystein Braut

Cast/Featuring: Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Violet Nelson, Barbara Eve Harris, Charlie Hannah, Jay Cardinal Villenueve

Running Time (minutes): 105 min

Language: English

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