“These friends, they were physical with each other. I think in different ways than we label it now” was a moment I couldn’t get out of my head from this film; a bond that’s beautifully indescribable. So, when I was offered the chance to speak with the cast and crew of I Want to Make a Film About Women, I was curious to unravel what it was like to find these forgotten female filmmakers’ voices.
I, Laneikka (18) from Film in Revolt had the pleasure of chatting with Karen Pearlman (Director/Writer/Editor), Victoria Haralabidou (who portrayed Esfir Shub), Liliya May (who portrayed Liliya Brik) and Valentina Lastrebova (Production Designer) on I Want to Make a Film About Women screening as part of Sydney Film Festival 2020.
First off, this is really cool, you guys are extremely cool and this is a really, really cool film.
Although the film follows the hidden female history of Russian constructivism filmmaking, the way you’ve encapsulated womanhood and sisterhood has a beautiful and universal quality to it.
Karen, how did you initially approach the mammoth task that is, showcasing this period of constructivism filmmakers in Russia?
Karen: Thank you for your kind words about the film, Laneikka, and I’ll just say it is a mammoth task. One I feel very responsible for, and one that is perpetually I think, a work in progress for me. I Want to Make a Film About Women is the third, in what I’m calling a trilogy of films about Russian constructivist female filmmakers, in particular, editors. It’s a complicated project because, on the one hand, I want to really blast these stories out into the world. The women I’m making films about have been so under-appreciated throughout film history and in the world.
On the other hand, whoo. It’s a heavy history to be responsible for and to try and get right. And I’m really grateful to all the people who have helped me bring these great histories and ideas to life.
On that, the way you’ve approached the film is sort of like a reimagining, like you’re reconstructing your own version of the constructivism period of filmmaking. How did you go about this process of reimagining?
Karen: I think in the end, I think the film is kind of about me, and it’s about the journey that I took to figure out how I could talk about these women. The title, I want to make a film about women, comes from an article written in 1933 by Esfir Shub, the filmmaker. She was frustrated by her inability to get work and funding for her films. So, I jumped off that… look, I’d love to say, I tried to imagine what film she would have made. But really, if you look at my film, she never would have made that. I just hope she wouldn’t have hated it. That’s all I have to say at this point!
I’d also been doing a lot of research about Russian constructivist filmmaking, and our producer, Richard James Allen and I went to Moscow and St Petersburg to do more research. And in my research, I learnt about who Liliya Brik (played by Liliya May) was. She is such an interesting and controversial character in film history. Liliya is mainly known for being sexy but in fact, she was fiercely intelligent and was a filmmaker herself. One of the scripts that she left behind is a kind of five-part reimagining of the story of Carmen, so I borrowed from her this five-part structure to create a very reflexive film about filmmaking, drawing on their ideas.
I’ve also heard, correct me if I’m wrong that Victoria, you trained at the same school your character Esfir Shub did? And likewise, Liliya you also trained as an actor in Russia. How did that feed into your process and approach in preparing for your characters?
Victoria: I find it extremely boring to talk about my process and I’d like to add onto what Karen spoke about. I do feel history is written by men. It’s interesting that in the 20s and 30s not only women but men worked as a community; they shared ideas, they lived together and they had this vision about a new way of expressing themselves and experimenting. In a similar way, that was the collaborative process of this film, we had an amazing costume designer and set designer that instantly puts you into the world of the characters. I think speaking about what I did as an actor gets boring and redundant. I love getting into my costume, I love being on set and collaborating with people to help try and serve the vision. That’s my approach.
I did train at the same school as Esfir, but it’s almost, kind of funny because everybody who studies film in Russia, goes to that school, and Esfir was an editor, and, to be honest with you, I rarely come in contact with the editors.
Karen: Let me tell you. We live with the actors!
We all have a laugh. (Karen was also the editor on the film)
Victoria: Anyway, I guess I bonded more with the girls on set, because we had the Russian denominator. We bonded on that, and being mothers, which is interesting yet completely irrelevant. I’m curious to hear what Liliya has to say…
Liliya: One of the reasons we’re able to connect so much, and also to our best abilities serve the characters, is actually, Karen’s casting process. Her genuine interest in casting actors and finding an ensemble who have the right energy and right experiences was quite brilliant. I also feel it was very easy to connect because although historical, the subject matter is so relevant to what’s happening today, within the discussions around feminism and the role of women in society. Karen almost made it easy for us, because she picked really great actors. I don’t want to say she allowed us to be lazy but in a way we were. The characters really spoke to us, and Karen helped us through rehearsals, discussions to understand the characters, story and the context, as well as showing us things like archived footage that, when combined with the costume and set (I’ve got Goose bumps just talking about it!) helped us bring the characters to life.
I also thought isn’t it incredible that not only do we share the same name, Liliya studied ballet, I studied ballet, I play piano and Liliya Brik learnt to play piano. She wasn’t just a muse, she was her own sort of intellectual creative, who studied arts, architecture, acted in films, directed films. She became almost like an epicentre; a melting pot of ideas and creative thinking. She probably never saw herself as a feminist, yet she paved the way for a lot of Soviet female directors.
Valentina, your production design captures this surreal balance between cinema and theatricality. The set almost serves as a stage like production. Was theatre a large influence in creating this world?
Valentina: Theatre was absolutely on my mind when I was creating this set. First of all, the artists represented in the film were designing their costumes and sets for theatre in their own works. I was fed many ideas from Meg White, our beautiful cinematographer, and Karen. You have to make adjustments for everyone’s ideas, we all put our own brushstrokes through it and make it come to life.
Karen: Theatricality is very deliberate in this film because it’s a hybrid film. In one way, it’s a documentary but it’s probably more a documentary about me, in an effort to understand this period and the actual people who are in it. I do a lot of signalling in the design and construction of this world, that this is not real. I made this up. It’s very easy when you’re watching a film to think this is what’s really happening. In I Want To Make a Film About Women there’s no evidence to say any of this really happened. And so, the injection of theatricality is to try and dig past what is known to be factual or archived, and try to imagine what possibly could have happened, if only… Theatrical qualities are important to me as a signal that this is theatre, we’re performing this.
We’ve touched on this earlier, but I’d like to know why you all think it’s important to tell the stories of these women in our current times?
Liliya: For me, I feel that I’m exploring the characters, having the honour to tell a story that allows me to learn more about my own history. This journey is to educate ourselves but also, hopefully, educate our audiences.
Victoria: As an actor, I feel it’s your job to ask questions and then ask more questions, rather than find answers. I think in this particular case, we explored storytelling and telling the story of storytellers through the notion of womanhood and sisterhood in 1920’s Russia. I admire my character, Esfir, and her dedication to the movement. She comes from a Jewish family but she’s so dedicated to the cause of the revolution. I tried to explore that contradiction.
Finally, what inspired you as a young person and what advice would you have for young filmmakers and creatives watching this film?
Valentina: I grew up in Moscow and immigrated to Australia when I was 24. My dad would always take my younger brother and me to the galleries and museums, so we were always exposed to art. And I wanted to be an artist since I was young even when my parents steered me away to economics and accounting for a few years, until I went to AFTRS and studied production design and now my dreams are finally coming true. My dad is a self-taught artist and he wanted to do that when he retired. Now he’s retired and he is not doing any art. My advice would be: do it when you want to do it, don’t wait until your retirement, make your dreams come true now.
Liliya: I would say, try to stay true to yourself. Of course, they’ll be times where other stuff gets in the way, but there’s always ways of expressing your passion, and always stay curious.
Karen: I was a dancer from a young age, I learnt how to dance before I could speak and what continues to inspire me is flow; being in motion, the possibilities of motion. I went from dancing to film-editing because editing is the art of flow, and creating flow and rhythm in motion. And advice for young people…? Don’t think of yourself as a young person, you’re just a person. Life is long and it’s really an opportunity and a responsibility to keep going and keep yourself in flow.
Well, that was a whirlwind! Too much brilliance in one room! Thank you all for taking the time to speak with me about your journey in telling a special story about a group of very special women. Karen, I’m sure Esfir would love the film.
Laneikka
I Want to Make a Film About Women
Sydney Film Festival