Bette Gordon

Bette Gordon(born June 22, 1950) is anAmericanfilmmakerand professor atColumbia University School of the Arts.She is best known for her filmsVariety(1983) andHandsome Harry(2009), both of which received critical acclaim in North America and abroad.

Bette Gordon in 2017

Personal life

Gordon began making films in the mid-1970s in theMidwestern United States,including in Chicago, Illinois and Madison, Wisconsin. These short films were experimental, dealing with movement through place, sexuality, culture, and structure.She cites French New Wave filmmakerJean-Luc Godardas a major inspiration to her as an artist and a filmmaker saying, "Having grown up through the '70s, I could not have found a more appropriate mentor. His radical approach to the use of sound and image helped shape me as much as the questions he asked the viewer to consider, most importantly, the relationship between truth and fiction."She also listsWong Kar Wai'sIn the Mood for Love,R.W. Fassbinder,John Cassavetesand films likeThe Last Picture ShowandMidnight Cowboyas inspirational for their portrayal of relationships and love.She considers the time she spent in New York in the early 1980s instrumental to her career because she was able to collaborate with new artists for the sake of creating art rather than making money.At that period, she also shifted to making more feature-length films.She is a friend of actorSteve Buscemiand cast him in her filmHandsome Harrybecause she felt as though it was a role unlike any he had ever played before.Gordon married Australian filmmaker Tim Burns and they have one daughter, Lili Burns.

In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Gordon signed an open letter published inLibérationdemanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip,and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.

Career

Gordon is said to be "known for her bold explorations of themes related to sexuality, violence and power."Her filmVarietyexplores the relationship between women, pornography and voyeurism. The title character of the film "turns the tables on men"by renegotiating the historically exploitative relationship between men and women with respect to pornographic films. She says, "My films have always focused on the visual aspects of storytelling. I've been drawn to stories in which color, texture and mood are as central to the narrative as character and plot."Though much of her work is focused on women and the female experience, some of her recent work - most notablyHandsome Harry- examines the social constraints placed on men and tensions between hetero-normative masculinity and homosexuality.In the film, described as "relentless"by a review inThe New York Times,the main character is struggling to confront the emotional and physical trauma he and his friends inflicted on a homosexual friend while in the Navy many years prior.

Academia

Gordon holds a BA, MA, and MFA from TheUniversity of Wisconsin–Madisonand is now a part of the film department of Columbia University School of the Arts.Some of her films are now a part of permanent collections in several different museums including theMuseum of Modern Artand theWhitney Museum of American Art.

Selected filmography

• 1974:Michigan Avenue(short)
• 1974:I-94(short)
• 1975:United States of America(short; co-directed withJames Benning)
• 1976:An Algorithm(short)
• 1978:Exchanges(short)
• 1980:Empty Suitcases(short)
• 1981:Anybody's Woman
• 1983:Variety
• 1986:Greed - Pay to Play(short)
• 1998:Luminous Motion
• 2003:Life on the Line(TV Movie)
• 2009:Handsome Harry
• 2016:The Drowning

External links

• Bette GordonatIMDb