In the IFFR Focus programme, the spotlight shines on the eccentric, bold oeuvre of American director Amanda Kramer. After years of running an underground dance label, Amanda Kramer turned to the world of film. With music videos that premiered on Vogue, LA Record, Flaunt Magazine and Complex, and feature films like Paris Window (2019) and Ladyworld (2018), the independent filmmaker managed to break through internationally. With work full of pop-cultural references to fashion, theatre, visual arts and music, and with a sharp eye for the human psyche, Kramer knows how to push the boundaries of contemporary cinema time and again.
This year’s festival presents, besides a selection of her short films and four feature films, two world premieres by Kramer. For the campy, dark musicalPlease Baby Please (2022), in which a decent Lower East Side couple experiences a sexual awakening after an encounter with a few gangsters, Kramer managed to secure a star cast including Andrea Riseborough, Harry Melling, and Demi Moore. The VHS-style disco dream Give Me Pity!(2022) centres on a young performer giving the one-woman show of her life, but where danger lurks behind the scenes. Amanda Kramer talks to IFFR programmer Michelle Carey about her extensive oeuvre, distinct style, and playing and breaking with conventional genres.
This Big Talk is available worldwide from Sat 29 January, 16:00 via IFFR.com
