Yi Yi

When I first glanced at the movie's duration, I was shocked: almost three hours?!
In fact, Yi Yi was worth every minute of it. The colors in this film--particularly the returns to red, playing on the theme of good fortune--were gorgeous; many of the shots were magnificent--for instance, the low angle on the girl standing in front of the audio-visual presentation about thunder; and the issues contemplated were wonderful and intriguing. I absolutely adored the little boy, and his quest to truly "see" the world around him. I also noted the interesting use of American popular songs, inserted at odd moments--"Summertime," played on the piano by Ting-Ting, and "Mr. Tambourine Man" hummed absently by her father during his business trip. "Yi Yi" was masterfully made and, in my opinion, extremely successful in its analysis of human life.
~ Cassie Jensen

Secret Daughter

Speaking as a person with a background similar to June Cross's--black father, white mother--I found this film incredibly fascinating. Much of the shooting gave the impression that it was low-budget, which really added to "Secret Daughter" 's overall reflexivity (the shaky camera, the admission of mistakes--e.g., the botched interview with the filmmaker's mother). I don't think this film would have been as successful if June Cross had played down her own role in her family history, and had focused solely on her mother and father's individual pasts. Since she (the filmmaker) is a "racial mixing" incarnate, her constant presence in the video was very fitting. Her use of found footage was also effective, and helped enhance the character studies of her mother and father by revealing their public personae and well as their private ones.

My favorite moments: June Cross's recount of the mother's "silent interview" in sync with the lost sound--and her interview with Jerry Lewis, which was stunning and quite telling about the kind of white-on-black thievery that happened (and continues to happen) in show business.

~ Cassie Jensen

Jeffs Video

I really liked jeffs film. I think his ability to take a television show that is so commercialized and popular and turn it into something that is unique and almost a dark humor is brilliant. I liked the way he used light and sound to set the tone of the film for the viewer. and took me into a space of questioning growing up and what it means. I think jeffs style is truly original and i admire his ability to play with different camera angles and effects. This is a piece that really spoke out to me and is something that i have never seen done before. His work is brilliant.

Cass G.'s piece

Cassie, I really liked your short documentary on the farm. I think that it is a very good beginning for a longer project; it will be very interesting to explore and expand on this subject and maybe to create something to show to the entire community. You had some very beautiful, artistic and clean shots and I really liked your camera work. I think that with more interviews and maybe with a 'narrative' voice over, it can become something very interesting especially for the community here in the Valley. Good job!
~camilla

Cries and Whispers

Since this was, admittedly, the first Ingmar Bergman film I had ever seen, the incredible cinematography and devastating subject matter came as a pleasant shock. Looking at "Cries and Whispers" now, one would never dream it was made in the seventies - the images are unbelievably sharp, and the 19th-century costumes are utterly convincing.
I thought the fades to red between flashbacks were particularly effective. The color seems to bring out the pain the characters' memories evoke--as do the striking close-up shots of each character before and after she remembers.
The silence in the movie, of course, speaks louder than its words. When Agnes gasps and howls in pain, her suffering is rendered all the more awful and palpable by the aura of silence around her, symbolic of her sisters' coldness. In this film, a whisper is loud. Ticking clocks are deafening. But the expressions on the actors' faces, unsupported by dialogue, convey everything the sisters fail to speak.

~Cassie Jensen

Daughters of the Dust

I thought Daughters of the Dust, the story of the migration of three generations of women to mainland America from the Sea Islands, was interesting because it felt like a fiction story as well as a documentary. The presence of a fiction story was felt due to the film’s narrative structure, while a documentary sense was given off due to the film’s slower pace. The slow pace makes it seem as if its purpose is mainly informational, like a documentary, while Julie Dash uses a young girl (who is not born yet) voice to narrate. What also adds to the documentary feel is the extensive amount of scenic and landscape shots. These shots are also often reoccurring, such as the wooden figure in the river. The repetition of these images gives the viewer a true sense of the character’s surroundings that contribute to their lifestyles, as well as of the characters themselves.

-Sibba

Camilla's Video

I really enjoyed your video Camilla. I am actually glad your interviews and original idea didn't work out! I thought your piece was a good combination of documentary as well as an art piece. You also did a good job of combining text with the voices in order to relay a story. Although, it would have been nice to maybe hear one or two more specific stories with new voices. I thought the visuals were effective and conveyed a sense of discomfort and nervousness (which I assume many of the girls in the stories felt). Maybe you could have included other images and clips for variety. I also loved the part with the drawing and the erasing of the belly. Good job!

-Sibba