American filmmaker Josephine Decker is being honoured with the Indie Star award and a retrospective at Poland’s Tauron American Film Festival. The director of Madeline’s Madeline and Shirley describes developing films with actors and building scenes through improvisation. Her recent comedy Chasing Summer prompted the festival to revisit her body of work.
American filmmaker Josephine Decker is receiving the Indie Star award from the Tauron American Film Festival in Wrocław, Poland.[1], [2]
A retrospective accompanies the honour for a director whose work includes Madeline’s Madeline and Shirley. The award recognises figures in American independent cinema; earlier recipients include Jesse Eisenberg, John Waters and Christine Vachon.[1]
Festival director Urszula Śniegowska says a retrospective had been considered for some time. Decker’s recent comedy Chasing Summer provided the occasion to revisit her films. She made it with comedian Iliza Shlesinger and says she repeatedly watched Punch-Drunk Love while considering how to combine art cinema with comedy. Shirley, another film in her body of work, stars Elisabeth Moss.[1]
Decker says she prefers developing material within a community or with actors. She feels particularly close to Madeline’s Madeline because its idea emerged from several people. On the short A Stable Marriage, the team started from one paragraph and improvised for a day. She hopes to establish a residency for films made without scripts. Recalling early cinema visits, she said missing film beginnings with her family helped shape her approach to constructing narratives.[1]
