g6pictures.com - THE FILMS OF GIOVANNA CHESLER

The multiple ways the filmmaker understands her body come to light during an accident involving hairspray and a flame. Using sound and image experiments, this short black and white experimental narrative reveals both grotesque and beautiful perceptions of self.

BeauteouS: Giovanna is the second part of a trilogy of films about three sisters and their relationships to beauty. This portrait focuses on the filmmaker, the oldest sister. In this film Giovanna presents the many ways she sees and understands her body. To do so she fragments parts of herself in grotesque and beautiful imagery. This is a challenging presentation, for in the system of cinematic patriarchy it is very difficult to present the women’s body as anything but sexual, and further to present a woman’s subjectivity. It involves breaking the male gaze and constructing a film which uses sound and image (sound most strongly) to present that subjectivityand deny pleasure.

Credits
Director and Writer Giovanna Chesler
Camera Josh Chesler
Lighting Giovanna Chesler and Rachel Power
Additional Direction Mahri Holt
Second Camera Hannah Guggenheim
Special Effects Matt Trovatten

Thanks to:
Donna and Ken Chesler, Dave Goldstein, David Duhig, Greta Snider, Britta Sjogren, Elise Hurwitz

Reviews of the Trilogy
City Beat, San Diego, DVD recommendation, 2005
Gay and Lesbian Times, Sept 04
KPBS review of the trilogy Sept 04
Video Librarian Review, April 2004
City Beat, San Diego, review, February 2004

Awards for BeauteouS: Giovanna
Regional (West Coast) Finalist Student Academy Awards, Experimental Category
Honorable Mention Best Experimental Film CSU Media Arts Festival

Screenings
Jewdas, London - June 2008
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, invited presentation – May 2005
Gender Queer / Queer Gender Conference, UCSD – February 2005
San Diego Girl Film Festival, San Diego, CA – Sept 2004
Console-ing Passions, New Orleans, LA - May 2004
Museum of Photographic Arts, Retrospective of Giovanna Chesler’s Work – Feb 2004
Women's Studies Film Series, Penn State University, State College, PA - Feb 2004
Georgetown Independent Film Festival Washington, DC, September 2003
Ladyfest Texas, Denver, CO, May 2003
Regional Finalist Screening Student Academy Awards, Portland, OR, April 2003
San Diego Film Foundation Shorts Program, February 2003
Film Arts Festival of Independent Film, San Francisco, CA, November 2002
CSU Media Arts Festival, November 2002