The Female Gaze - Test Pattern

• Date: 20 March 19:15 - 20:57
• Location: Filmhuis Den Haag

Shatara Michelle Ford

United States, 2019

82 min

English spoken

Evan and Renesha's relationship comes under strain when she wakes up one morning in another man's bed. It seems she has been drugged and raped, but she can only remember fragments of the evening. One thing she does know for certain: she did not go home with him willingly.

We follow mixed-race couple Renesha and Evan. She: an African-American career woman who goes to work for a charity; he: a casual white tattoo artist.

When Renesha is sexually assaulted after a night out, their whole world is turned upside down. Together they try to reach a solution and start looking for help. The medical and legal bureaucracy turns out to be more complicated than expected and puts a lot of pressure on the young couple. They are sent from pillar to post and frustrations mount and they must pull out all the stops to remain a team.

Female Gaze

While not all directors leave an equally visible mark on their work, their choices are all-important to the work you get to see. They decide not only what you see in the frame, but also which characters get an explored story. In the modern world, however, only 11 percent of directors are women. As such, the "male gaze" is still the norm.

In an effort to change the status quo in this regard, Filmhuis Den Haag is focusing on a program in the context of Women's Day that puts the spotlight on women in front of and behind the camera. All films will be introduced by Dana Linssen, film journalist and writer.

For the rest of the program, see here.

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