DIRECTOR'S STATEMENT

 

 

 

“Mirrors to Windows” aims to reach out to the creative spirit which resides in each of us, demystifying the elusive artistic practice and making it accessible to a wide audience. This film offers the voices of ten diverse, dynamic and inspirational role models – ten women, across three generations, who are making art work in the 21st century.

 

There have been many films on the male artist – a well-known protagonist, his archetype has been accepted, celebrated and embraced in popular culture as a romantic ideal, but we are literally missing half the picture. The story of the female artist, filled with the gritty realism of negotiations, commitments, compromise and determination to make their own path through the world, has not been properly told and it is a far more relatable story to both genders. “Mirrors to Windows” puts the lens between art and life to create an intimate collective biography that will stand the test of time.

 

“Mirrors to Windows” is of today. By casting women from 6 different countries, the film is a window into the 21st century urban world. The film, set in London, could easily take place in New York, Berlin, Amsterdam, Paris and beyond. The cultural diversity of the ten artists is reflective not only of the city of London itself, but of the multi-cultural world we all live in today.

 

With “Mirrors to Windows”, my aim was to make an intimate film about an artist's life. A film that would leave the audience feeling that they were dropping into the artists' studio. With ten main characters, this was not an easy task, yet those who have viewed the film have commented on its intimacy. This was accomplished by a long production schedule. I spent three years filming characters in their studios preparing for and setting up their exhibitions and developing close relationships with each and every one of them. To create an environment, that would lend itself to intimacy, I shot the studio material myself, which is something I had never done before.

 

Finally, it was important that the film not portray women as underdogs, but rather engage the audience with women who are empowered through their self-esteem, their commitment to their work, their vision and their highly personal approaches to what it means to be an artist and a woman, and to not to be confined in any one role.

 

 

 

Contact details: Susan Steinberg / SDS Productions

Email: sds48@me.com / Office: 020 7317 8232 / Mob: 0797 342 8177