Four Genderfilms

These four award-winning films by Catherine Crouch explore gender issues from a feminist perspective with humour and sensitivity. Vanilla Lament (6 min. 16mm 1997) Utilizing a mix of live-action, scratch and stop-motion animation techniques, “Vanilla Lament” is a humorous fantasy rendering of a sudden romantic break-up and its aftermath. This hand-crafted film, inspired by the experimental filmmakers of 1960s, won numerous awards, including a silver plaque at the 1998 Chicago International Film Festival. One Small Step (30 min. 16mm 1999) Set in South Carolina on the eve of the 1969 Apollo 11 moon walk, “One Small Step” is a dramatic comedy about 8-year-old tomboy Ernestine “Teen” Miller. Taught by her parents that she can be anything she wants, Teen learns there is one exception to this rule when she announces to her mother that she is determined to marry the neighbor girl. Winner of four Best Short Film Awards. Pretty Ladies (30 min. Super 8 2002) This beautiful, surrealistic fairy tale about four young women looking for love has been honoured with two Kodak Cinematography awards, as well as two festival Audience Awards. The Gendercator (15 min. Super 8 & video 2007) “The Gendercator” is a satirical take on surgical body modification and gender. The story uses the “Rip van Winkle” model to extrapolate from the feminist 1970s to a frightening 2048, where politics and technology have conspired to mandate two gender “choices”: macho male or Barbie babe. In this dystopian future, those whose gender presentation does not comply will be GENDERCATED.