DAY 1

What is a woman's value, if not validated in a man? This is the mindset of "Jane". She does everything she can to please her husband and influence her daughter to become the perfect image of a good wife, and yet, it doesn't work. I'm working with a few fierce up-and-coming women in this female-driven short 35mm film, "Cupcakes". Written by Paige Hochstatter and Directed by Thea Rice. Here we go!

DAY 2

Crazy. This film was shot on 35mm film, the kind that actually has to get sent to LA to get developed then shipped back in 2 weeks, for possibly a year of editing. With digital taking over, no one in Chicago does film because it's rare and expensive. Not many actors can say they've been on film in their whole careers. Apparently in this film they used a kind of camera that is used in major motion pictures- You can see the Panavision logo at the end of the rolling credits of some of your fav movies from the past. Cool. What a weekend and experience.

DAY 3

Last full day of filming. This story is, uncomfortable, at best, and yet one I think is common to the female narrative. Written and directed by women, it challenges the old paradigm of femininity that says a woman's worth is validated in a man, with the new paradigm of womanhood free in and of itself. "Cupcakes" tells the story of Jane, a woman who desperately tries to be validated by her husband and grooms her daughter to believe the goal in life is to find a good man and be a good wife, all the makeup, all the effort to shape yourself into the woman you should be to satisfy the male gaze. Her daughter, Jill, is disgusted, wants nothing of it and sees how painful it is to witness that in her household. It's not a pleasant story of womanhood, but one that in the end culminates with a scene of mother and daughter breaking the cycle of oppression and finally finding a moment of authentic connection with one another and themselves.
Phew. Getting ready for the big cupcake food fight scene today...

Adventures in 35mm: "Cupcakes"

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3