MIRROR MIRROR

16mm color film, 17 minutes, l990

SYNOPSIS
Mirror Mirror provocatively explores the relationship between a woman's body image and the quest for an idealized female form. Blending humor and candor, the film incisively illuminates the vagaries in the concept of an "ideal" body type. A tension exists between the visual statement created by masks and mannequins and the rich diversity of the thirteen women appearing in the film. These women, of varying age, size, and ethnicity, frankly reveal the ambivalence with which they regard their own bodies. Their comments on the size and shape of specific body parts are underscored by footage from the thirties depicting perfect body part contests for women.

REVIEWS
...presents a little-discussed but often-pondered subject exceedingly well...
Marilyn McCroskey, Video Rating Guide

...the movie makes its striking point when the masks come off and we see how startingly more important a person's smile is than the shape of her arms or bosom...
Jonathan Storm, Philadelphia Inquirer

...the point of the film is obvious, but the way it's done makes a powerful statement...
Randy Turoff, Bay Guardian

FULL-TEXT REVIEWS
American Film and Video Association Evaluations
Video Rating Guide (Marilyn McCroskey)

ARTICLES
"Looking in the mirror", The Clayman Institute for Gender Research, J. Christian Jensen, May 2012

AWARDS AND FILM FESTIVALS
First Prize, Documentary, New York Film Expo
Best Documentary Film, Humboldt International Film & Video Festival
Jury Award, Documentary Film, Big Muddy Film Festival
Director's Choice, Edison-Black Maria Film & Video Festival
Judges' Choice, Louisville Film and Video Festival
Best Women's Issues Film, Univ. of Cincinnati Film Society
Honorable Mention, Baltimore International Film Festival
Finalist, American Film Festival
Finalist, USA Film Festival
London International Film Festival
Rocky Mountain Women's Film Festival
Visual Artists' Film and Video Festival
Margaret Mead Film Festival.
Denver International Film Festival
AFI Los Angeles, Film Festival
Athens International Film & Video Festival
Women in Resistance Film Festival, France
Seoul International Film Festival
"What's Happening" series, Museum of Modern Art, New York
Flaherty Film Seminar
Third Wave International Women's Film & Video Festival, Austin
San Francisco Women's Film Festival
Cinequest Film Festival
Ann Arbor Film Festival
Charlotte Film and Video Festival

BROADCASTS
National broadcast on PBS series P.O.V.
Broadcast on PBS series Through the Lens
Broadcast on PBS series Territory, Texas
Broadcast on BBC, United Kingdom
Broadcast on REN TV, Russia
Learning Channel Europe
Radio Telefis Eireann, Ireland

PRODUCTION CREDITS
Produced, Directed, and Edited by Jan Krawitz
Cinematography by Thomas Ott
Original Music by Shawn Thornton and Tom Sherry
Additional Music: "Big and Fat and Forty-Four"

DISTRIBUTOR
Women Make Movies, Inc.
462 Broadway, Suite 500 L
New York, NY 10013
phone: 212-925-0606
fax: 212-925-2052
www.wmm.com

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Jan Krawitz
Department of Art & Art History
435 Lasuen Mall
Stanford University
Stanford, CA 94305-2018
650-723-0704
email: krawitz@stanford.edu

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