Madeline's Madeline
Forum 2018
USA 2018
by: Josephine Decker
Helena Howard
Madeline's Madeline
Forum 2018
USA 2018
by: Josephine Decker
Helena Howard
Madeline's Madeline
Forum 2018
USA 2018
by: Josephine Decker
Josephine Decker
Madeline's Madeline
Forum 2018
USA 2018
by: Josephine Decker
Feb 17, 2018Josephine Decker, Helena Howard, Krista Parris
The director, the main actress and the producer of the film.
Forum – Madeline's Madeline
Feb 17, 2018Josephine Decker
The director of the US-American film.
Forum – Madeline's Madeline
Director Josephine Decker on her film
Sometimes Madeline is a cat, sometimes a turtle. But even when she’s Madeline, it’s hard to tell if she’s just playing the role of Madeline. In the eyes of her anxious mother (Miranda July), she is a vulnerable creature whose obvious mental disorder requires care and medical treatment. But on stage, at the theatre workshop run by the extremely demanding, sometimes even reckless Evangeline (Molly Parker), Madeline is strong, impressive – a force of nature.
Director Josephine Decker equally demands everything of her fantastic actress, Helena Howard. Her third feature film sounds out both the healing and potentially destructive powers of performance, what happens when you play around with roles and identities. Like Madeline herself, Madeline's Madeline remains ambiguous. Do we really need to define what’s a mental illness and what is simply the rebelliousness of a teenager? How do we draw the line between love and overprotectiveness? In a legitimate artistic process in which everyone is giving and taking, where lies the threshold to exploitation? Does creativity even exist without destruction?
by
Josephine Decker
USA 2018
English
93’ · Colour
Helena Howard (Madeline)Miranda July (Regina)Molly Parker (Evangeline)Okwui Okpokwasili (Nurse, KK)Sunita Mani (Assistant Max)Felipe Bonilla (Santos, Cousin Elmer)Lisa Tharps (Laura)Curtiss Cooke (George)Reynaldo Piniella (Jaime)Myra Lucretia Taylor (Kaila)
Josephine Decker’s feature film Shirley recently had its world premiere at Sundance in 2020 where she won the U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking. Madeline’s Madeline had its world premiere at Sundance in 2018, and went on to screen at the Berlinale. Her first two narrative features premiered in the Berlinale Forum in 2014. She also explores collaborative storytelling via TV directing, documentary making, performance art, accordion-playing, acting, teaching at CalArts and Princeton University, and leading artist residencies. She was born in London in 1981.
Filmography (selection)2005 Naked Princeton; 29 min. · Naked Princeton; short film 2008 Bi the Way; documentary · Bi the Way; 85 min., co-directed by Brittany Blockman 2011 Me the Terrible; 11 min. 2009 Where Are You Going, Elena?; short film 2010 Sqeezebox; short film 2014 Butter on the Latch; 72 min., Forum 2014 · Thou Wast Mild and Lovely; 76 min., Forum 2014 · Thou Wast Mild and Lovely 2012 Me the Terrible; short film 2013 Butter on the Latch 2017 The Nothing is Coming; 10 min. · Flames; documentary · Mosaic 2018 Madeline’s Madeline · Madeline’s Madeline · The Mask Task; short film 2020 Shirley
Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2020
Parris Pictures
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