The Giverny Document (Single Channel)
NEW DOCS
This poetic exploration of black womanhood and bodily autonomy contemplates what it means to feel safe while existing in a body that is simultaneously black and female. An experimental meditation, the film uses a multifaceted approach, gracefully weaving different visual styles and editing techniques. In interviews on the streets of Harlem, filmmaker Ja’Tovia Gary asks black women of all ages to consider their safety: in their bodies, in their neighborhoods, in the world. Exquisitely shot scenes of Gary in Claude Monet’s garden in Giverny, France, are juxtaposed with cell phone footage and arresting archival video, including a performance by Nina Simone. The montage-style editing, accompanied by a distorted audio track, creates a surreal composition of images and sounds that examines the identity and safety of black women in a white, patriarchal society. SAM
Director
Ja’Tovia Gary
Producers
Paige Wood, Artesia Balthrop, Ja’Tovia Gary
Editor
Ja’Tovia Gary
Cinematographer
Mia Cioffi Henry
Release Year
2019
Festival Year
2020
Country
United States, France
Run Time
42 minutes
Subtitled
No