Independent filmmaker Jane Clark needs your help.
Jane is the producer of Elena Undone, a will-they-won't-they
movie about two women who fall in love. And The Touch, which tells
the story of lesbian poet Renee Vivian. She has also recently
polished off another feature, Meth Head. (Scroll down
to watch the trailer.)
Currently in the works is Crazy Bitches, a project with all the
ingredients of a wonderfully guilty watch. Clark laughs at films
that limit themselves to one genre (pah!) and dubs it an all-girl /
horror/ serial killer / comedy. Take seven women, one gay man and
one remote ranch. Stir in a large, gloopy dose of murder and you
get Crazy Bitches, which promises to be the bastard child of
Bridesmaids and Heathers.
One by one the plucky characters fall foul to the noose of their
own vanity. Clark says the film will make comment on 'the way our
society puts an emphasis on looks rather than soul'.
The cast includes real-life couple Jill Bennet and Cathy de
Buono (pictured), who you'll recognise from their
appearances - separately and together - in Dante's Cove, We Have To
Stop Now, And Then Came Lola and The Touch.
The stickler is that Clark needs a cash injection to ensure
Crazy Bitches gets wrapped. If you are a female filmmaker trying to
get a film made, and that film has a largely female cast, the stats
aren't rosy. Out of the top 100 films last year only 12 focused on
or starred women and just 5% of the top 100 films last year were
directed by women. "I've faced direct, to my face, discrimination
based on gender," says Clark, "which I still can't believe is
possible in 2012."
The crew behind Crazy Bitches have set up a Kick Starter site to
raise funds for the project. There are just 12 days left to donate
and yes, there are plenty of reasons to save that cash for the
Christmas kitty. But one way we can start to redress the gender
imbalance in film is to support projects like Crazy Bitches. So if
you fancy giving a couple of £s because you want to see more women
behind the camera, or just because you love the sound of an
all-girl slasher flick, visit:
www.kickstarter.com/projects/1089545503/crazy-bitches-20
Find out more about the film here: www.thecrazybitchesmovie.com
Scroll down to watch the trailer for Meth
Head.
