The Beginning

So our university/museum tour kicked off in September with a journey to Maine. We started at Bowdoin College. We had been invited by Professor Susan Wegner.

We first met Professor Wegner at the CAA convention in Chicago in February 2010. Over many years we had strategized how best to roll out our film (when we finally finished) and we believed that CAA was the perfect setting to launch. CAA would be the first step in our DIY distribution plan. And after spending 7 years making the film (hard to admit) we hoped it would be smooth sailing.

We had reserved a booth in the book and trade fair section of the convention. We ordered press materials, booked our travel early and tried to be meticulous, saving money without cutting corners and yet we almost didn't make it to Chicago. 

The conference was scheduled for February 10-13 and when a blizzard hit on the 6th we scurried to find alternate travel routes should we need them. Things were crazy, We booked a sleeper train just in case and kept checking the flights - we had to get there. And then the day before our flight - . . .

Snowmageddon  - that's what they nicknamed it. People said it was epic. The second North American blizzard of 2010 hit the Midwest, Mid-Atlantic and New England regions of the United States between February 9–11, 2010.  The storm dumped 12 to 40 inches of snow across a wide swath from Washington, DC to Boston.

Oh no! We kept checking the flights. And then when it seemed that a later flight might be a better bet we took the chance and changed ours - only to have the earlier one be the last to leave the gate.

So Melissa went to work and pulled some strings - (having a sister-in-law in the travel business is a good thing!)

Pheww . . . a day late - but we got there, many weren't so lucky. Yeah!

We set up our booth, got some power for our laptaps and waited for the crowds. 

People seemed genuinely interested in our film. We told everyone about our plans to self-distribute starting in the Fall of 2010. They watched the trailer, snapped up out postcards and bookmarks and signed our mailing list.

We also made time to see some of the academic presentations at CAA. We were especially eager to see Professor Wegner's talk - "Darkness at Dawn: Artemisia Gentileschi’s Aurora, ca. 1625-27." It was an amazing paper - we were both moved - (actually to tears) and we can't wait for it to be published so we can share it with all of you.

We were pleased when Professor Wegner came to our booth to see our trailer and find out more about our plans for the film. It seems so long ago.

So in September 2010 we set out for Maine. (more coming . . . )

New Radio Interview with Will Corwin

Here is a recent radio interview we did with Will Corwin for Art International Radio. Will is a wonderful artist and a great interviewer - we're really excited to share this. You can listen here or . . .

you can access the interview through the links below.

 

Ellen Weissbrod & Melissa Powell, a woman like that
First broadcast December 10, 2010

▶ Listen NOW or listen with iTunes

Ellen Weissbrod and Melissa Powell, director and producer of the Film, a woman like that, stop by the Clocktower to tell the story of their feature-length documentary. The film follows the life of the 17th century artist Artemisia Gentilesschi, but it does more than that. In researching and talking about Artemisia, director Weissbrod, who also narrates and appears in the film, finds a source of inspiration and strength in the paintings of this painter who had been often misunderstood. In the telling of the story she gathers together art historians and art lovers who have been touched by a woman who succeeded against many obstacles in a time when women were not supposed to be painters to begin with, and certainly not supposed to paint the way Artemisia did. (31 minutes) 

Please share our post with your friends - Thanks!

Venturing Forth

So it has been a long, long time coming - many, many years of trying to figure out how to tell the story of Artemisia Gentileschi, but here we are getting the film out in to the world. (We'll definitely post more about making the film further down the line.)

We finished the film at the end of May and had our first public screenings at the Berkshire International Film Festival, on June 5th and June 6th 2010.

We found ourselves on various blogs - berkshirewomenwrite.com, ginahyams.com/blog/ - everyone did a great job of getting the word out there. Our first two public screenings were a great success - we even sold out!

The audience was extremely moved, expressed its enthusiasm and even laughed in more places than we ever imagined. It was very gratifying.

Many old friends came and brought new friends - we had a lovely dinner after our premiere.

The festival hosted some really fun events, we met lots of people and this part of our adventure was launched.

We are so grateful to Kelley and Lauren and John and especially Elissa and everyone else at BIFF for making it possible! A wonderful weekend.

Here is a little movie Melissa compiled of our Berkshire weekend.

Food and New Friends - Portland, Oregon

So, being on the road, traveling to show our film "a woman like that" - we are also trying to make the time to explore the different cities we find ourselves in, particularly their food culture - specifically restaurants and markets. Melissa is adroit at sourcing out the best food.

We drove 3 hours in a dark downpour to get from Seattle to Portland. We had arranged to have dinner with Professor Jesse Locker and his wife Laura at a restaurant called Bar Avignon.

The food was delicious and probably half the price from what it would cost to eat similar food in NYC. I'm sorry I don't have photos of the food.

Some of the things we had were: arugula salad, fuyu persimmon, spanish cheese (mandolined persimmon slices have since become my favorite addition to salad), autumn vegetables with chanterelles & fig-walnut salsa, cassoulet: duck, pork belly, shell beans, kale, bread crumbs and dry aged new york steak, potato-celery root gratin, chicories.

I'm probably forgetting something - but it was all delicious. We did share a dessert but I think we roundly agreed it did not rise to the level of the other courses.

One of the reasons for driving that rainy night was so we could get to the Portland Saturday Market, which Melissa had assured me I was going to find totally to my liking. So bright and early, (of course after hitting the gym and having some coffee) we trotted over there.

And of course Melissa was right - it was fantastic!

Mushrooms, for the second time we found local Northwest truffles. I had no idea - they are definitely milder than the Italian ones but also a fraction of the cost.

A plethora of apples, many varieties that were new to me - including these with red interiors. Wow - they would make a beautiful apple strudel.

Beets, rainbow hued.

Multitudes of greens

Enormous rutabagas and the largest leaves I have ever seen (I know this photo provides no perspective but you'll have to take my word for how big they were.

Different from our home town farmer's market in Union Square, Portland's market has amazing prepared foods - from ice cream to sandwiches, tamales to biscuits. Here's Melissa in front of Pine State Biscuits. I'm told it is famous - this picture is for Melissa's son Alex,

who likes their biscuits. We ended up sharing a breakfast egg on biscuit sandwich - it was pretty good.

On the Road

Since September we've been on the road screening "a woman like that" . . . and it has been an exhilarating ride - but I/we have not taken the time to catch up and fill everyone in on what has been happening, all the places we've been, the wonderful people we've met and the fantastic reception that has greeted the film.

So in a typically non-linear fashion - here are some of the highlights of our journey so far.

While we've had a slew of successful screenings, our most recent - at the Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon - was our largest venue yet. We hoped the word had gotten out - we hoped we would fill the house. This was a big test of our DIY - social networking strategy! We were very relieved to see people waiting to get in before the doors to the theater opened.

And as the theater started to fill . . .

I did some quick iphone video interviews (sorry for the poor sound quality) to see what had brought people out and what they were expecting.

The screening was scheduled for Saturday afternoon at 1pm and as people continued to straggle in - we began a little late.

Obviously our hosts - Dana Katz from Reed College and Jesse Locker from Portland State -

along with the Portland Bologna Sister City Association did a really amazing job of getting the word out. They filled the house - we counted 350!

The film was presented as "An Afternoon with Artemisia Gentileschi: Film and Conversation." Dana Katz introduced the event and then Jesse Locker, who is writing a new book about Artemisia, gave a really great 10 minute introduction to Artemisia and her work. He then placed our film in a context of all the biographical works; fiction and non-fiction books and movies; that preceded "a woman like that." That was especially gratifying!

The audience was rambunctiously appreciative, and most stayed for the following Q&A. Their comments were warm and emotional - their questions pointed and poignant.

We really appreciate the grand effort of Jesse and Dana. We are grateful for their enthusiasm, support, kind words and of course the after screening drinks and great conversation - cheers all around!

We added a lot more names to our mailing list, too.