Where is She Now?

Were you a participant in J4J? Did you send a tape or attend a screening?
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Diana Krause Martinelli (Oliver), Weddings From My Window
March 1, 2016

How did you find out about Joanie 4 Jackie and how old were you at the time?
In my 30’s I studied video production and created a video of the wedding processions that came to the park across the street from where I lived in New York. At the time I was in an abusive relationship, the narrative of the piece against the pageantry of all these weddings was the bases of my story.

What interested you about the project?
At the time I created this short film I wanted to share with women thoughts of hopes, dreams, marriage and choices that we get to make. It was a great place to express being a girl.

At the time you participated in Joanie 4 Jackie did you consider yourself a filmmaker? What was your relationship to making movies?
A student filmmaker, this project was part of my going to film school to learn video production. Several years ago I started a record production company with my husband Maurice Oliver, called Electronfarm Records. Through Electronfarm records we have produced short music videos on Chicago El trains, Millennium Park, and pollution in the Sian Ka’an biosphere.

Do you have any specific anecdotes or memories associated with the project?
Through the years I have not shared this video it was in a format that wasn’t adaptable to most VCRs. My life changed after this and film making changed to only short music video projects.

I once shared this video with a women who was struggling with her own abusive relationship. After seeing the film she hugged me and thanked me for sharing. It showed her that there was life to be lived after an abusive relationship. It was one of the most rewarding moments in my artistic career.

What did you think/feel about the Joanie 4 Jackie at the time? And now, in retrospect?
I loved that it was a place to gather views of women by women. It was empowering at the time to be included. I have shown my video to battered women and they have thanked me for showing them that there is life out there even after such an ordeal. Going public was scary and invigorating all at once.

What institutions, groups, people, publications and movements were inspiring you at the time of your participation in J4J?
I was studying at Global Video Productions in SoHo NY

What do you do now – professionally and otherwise? Are you still involved in filmmaking?
I am a writer, artist, designer. Owner of a record label. Mother.

Kerthy Fix, Passion is a Red Dress Ripping
February 19, 2016

How did you find out about Joanie 4 Jackie and how old were you at the time?
This was 1998 and I forget how I was approached. Via letter (!) I think…? I was fresh out of film school at the University of Texas.

What interested you about the project?
We were all making super 8 films and zines at the time. Joanie 4 Jackie felt like a natural extension of the creative community I was in. Austin may not have been as political as other cities of the time but it was a wonderful creative nook for women and queers and odd folks of all stripes. Maybe because of its resistance to easy politics it felt like a great place to explore. And giving your film for free to a chain letter was part of the zeitgeist.

At the time you participated in Joanie 4 Jackie did you consider yourself a filmmaker? What was your relationship to making movies?
I was just starting to make films but I was shooting a lot of music. I thought it would go on forever, this DIY creative feeling which Joanie 4 Jackie was part of. And I suppose it has but the physical craft aspect is diminished as things go on the internet.

Do you have any specific anecdotes or memories associated with your movie?
It was originally shot for an in situ collective film series held on Valentine’s Day at the old Ritz Theater on 6th Street in Austin. The screening was called “50 Feet of Love” and everyone made their films by editing in-camera as they shot their film.

What did you think/feel about the Joanie 4 Jackie at the time? And now, in retrospect?
I loved that there was a place for young women filmmakers to come together around film. It felt like being part of a secret society of creatives.

What institutions, groups, people, publications and movements were inspiring you at the time of your participation in J4J?
In Austin, some of us performed in Metamorphosex with Annie Sprinkle and were hugely influenced by her as well as Linda Montano who was teaching in the Art Dept at UT. Research Publication’s “Angry Women” was very meaningful and bell hooks, lydia lunch, and Diamonda Galas were inspiring. Friends were also active in the Lesbian Avengers and the music scene was quite important to most of us – which included such phenomenal bands as Biscuit’s Swine King, Power Snatch, The Horsies, Gretchen Phillips, Ed Hall, Pocket Fishermen and on and on. Some of us co-founded The Performance Art Church (PeaCh) and we did numerous performances in rock clubs all over Austin. The other founders Fausto Fernos, Sheelah Murthy, and Diana Garcia were all coming from music as a big inspiration as well.

What do you do now – professionally and otherwise? Are you still involved in filmmaking?
I work in documentary and television as a director/producer. I made two music docs, one about Stephin Merritt and the Magnetic Fields and one about Le Tigre on tour. I’m currently pitching tv show ideas and making another music doc about composer Sxip Shirey. I also wrote a script with Craig Harwood about the first famous transsexual Christine Jorgensen which is being shopped around to producers.

Anything you would like to see on the J4J site?
All the movies online!

Monica Pozzi, SLIP
November 28, 2017

How did you find out about Joanie 4 Jackie and how old were you at the time?
I don’t remember. Probably a flyer. I was 36. I was a film student in New York.

What interested you about the project?
SLIP was my first short film project, shot on 16mm. I wanted to reach as many viewers as possible. Sharing my work with a group of like-minded female filmmakers seemed challenging.

At the time you participated in Joanie 4 Jackie did you consider yourself a filmmaker? What was your relationship to making movies?
I was a student filmmaker at the time.

Do you have any specific anecdotes or memories associated with your movie?
During my research for SLIP, I was hanging out at New York’s strip clubs: Pussycat Lounge, New York Dolls, Billy’s Topless, Sally’s, or Baby Doll Lounge which can be seen in the opening shot. At the time none of these locations were willing to collaborate with a filmmaker. The city of New York had already started to clean up the industry and publicity was not welcome. As a result, most of SLIP was shot on a tiny set that I built in the garage of a friend in Connecticut. Other locations included my studio on the fifth floor of the original Chelsea Hotel. Sadly the main actor Jeffrey Irgens died of cancer only a few years later.

What did you think/feel about the Joanie 4 Jackie at the time? And now, in retrospect?
I was and still am proud to be part of the project. I still own two copies of the original VHS Silver Chainletter.

If you attended a screening, can you tell us where and when it was and anything else you remember about it?
I remember attending a screening in SoHo, New York, where I met with Miranda July. However, I don’t recall any details.

What do you do now – professionally and otherwise? Are you still involved in filmmaking?
Before studying film, I received my Master’s Degree in Architecture from the ETH Zürich in Switzerland, where I worked as an architect for several years. I continued my work in independent filmmaking as a camera assistant, director of photography and assistant to the director. For the past ten years, I primarily worked as a journalist. Since 2009, I have been the photo and casting director of Switzerland’s leading women’s fashion and lifestyle magazine annabelle. Through my company POZZIBLE I provide creative consulting services in media and advertising.

I am also the founder of OBODNY, a project with the mission to empower kids, teens and young adults through skateboarding.

What institutions, groups, people, publications and movements were inspiring you at this time in your life?
I was a resident at the Chelsea Hotel from 1993-2001. Hanging out in the lobby and talking to my neighbors was a lot of inspiration. At night I took extended walks around Manhattan and often ended up having a late night snack at Florent in the old Meatpacking District. Back then one could browse 24/7 at St. Mark’s Bookstore. Kim’s Video around the corner had a never ending supply of rare foreign films for rent. It was an analog world.

Anything you would like to see on the J4J site?
I would like to see SLIP not only as a screenshot, but as a streaming video.

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