LEF Grantee Jane
Gillooly will be premiering her newest film SUITCASE OF LOVE AND SHAME at the Ann Arbor Film Festival on Saturday March 23rd. The film reconstructs a mesmerizing narrative from
60 hours of reel-to-reel audiotape discovered in a suitcase purchased
on eBay. Recorded in the 1960's, the tapes chronicle an adulterous
love affair between a Mid-western woman and her lover. Tender,
erotic, and pathetic, this forbidden love story plays out in a
decade that would soon spawn the sexual revolution
LEF Program
Director Sara Archambault spoke to Jane recently about her
inspirations, her process, and how to create a feature film from a
box of audiotape.

SA: Tell me
about when you found the suitcase.
JG: The suitcase
came to me because I was looking for collections. I had been
researching a film about time with an artist friend S.A. Bachman. One
thought was to work with a collection of objects that had been
assembled over a period of time. The concept being, to both trace the
sources and significance of the objects and interpret their embedded
meanings in a contemporary context. This was partially inspired by
coming across a collection of my own of all the birth control I’ve
used in my life. Not unsurprisingly there is a vast amount of
information that can be extracted from the contents of that box --
medical, personal, political, societal and sexual. It conjures so
much.
My friend Albert
Steg knew that I was looking for collections when he discovered this
suitcase on eBay in December of 2009. He shared the discovery with me
and asked me if I wanted him to place a bid on it. I did, and no one
bid against me.
I already knew
from the initial eBay ad that this was a chronicle of an affair. The
audiotapes arrived in a hard bodied suitcase, not a Samonsite, but
similar. The very first impression I had was the smell. It smelled
like mildew. I was immediately struck by various memories that this
smell evoked for me. I was also struck by how well organized it was.
The audiotapes were neatly arranged in rows. The other momentos were
grouped in envelopes – very orderly. It occurred to me this may
have been organized by the person who posted it on eBay although each
of the reel-to-reel boxes were labeled, often dated, and in some
cases notated clearly by the original owners.
After listening
to a few tapes, I felt I could trust that the dates on the boxes were
truthful. But rather than listening to them in chronological order, I
started listening to the tapes in a random order and began
formulating an interpretation of what had transpired. With every tape
I listened to I either imagined it in a scenario or rejected it for
the time being. By disregarding the chronology, I had the freedom to
re-present the material. I decided early on I would reconstruct a
story according to what I imagined could have happened – writing
the narrative as I listened and eventually listening for content that
supported the narrative I was imagining.
Suitcase of Love and Shame trailer from jane gillooly on Vimeo.
SA: In some ways, discovering reel-to-reel tapes and from them, choosing to create a feature-length feature documentary is an unusual choice. How did you know you had a film hidden in these materials?
JG: It wasn’t
difficult for me to know I had a film. What I didn’t know was if I
wanted to make a film with images, particularly because the audio
recordings are so visual. I knew I wanted to privilege the
audiotapes, so the challenge became to figure out how to integrate
images without distracting or competing with the audio.
My first
“time-based” work was audio driven and cut on reel-to-reel ¼”
audiotape. That work, No Applause, was also a narrative collage. It
was sourced from audio and visual media that I did not record myself.
Most of the work that I have created since has encompassed a strong
audio component, often combining voice over, interview, and sound
design. The process of listening to hours of audio before I start to
structure a film is not foreign to me, in fact, I am more comfortable
working that way. I am just as likely to cut a scene based upon audio
as I am to cut it based on picture.
I was confronted
with an archive that I had the pleasure to distill and I was inspired
by how texturally rich these tapes are. The background sounds on them
often implied a location so it wasn’t necessary to visually
illustrate a setting. I had the option to create a sense of place
through sound editing and soundscapes. The sound also provides a
level of authenticity that I knew I didn’t want to illustrate in a
literal manner. The sighs, the coughs, and giggles, mic noise, the
mic cable, machine hum etc. provided a level of intimacy that the
slides and photographs in the suitcase couldn’t compete with. I
could free-associate any images I wanted, or have nothing on the
screen at all. Certain imagery was suggested by the story as I was
discovering it - an animal hospital for instance. While other footage
was an interpretation of events, presented metaphorically, or
completely of my own invention -- a result of the process of
reimagining.
The audiotapes
are not only reminiscent of the mid-1960’s they are truly a
document of that period in time. Working almost exclusively with the
60 hours in the suitcase, I give the audience a chronology of events
that provide a beginning middle and end -- although I took liberties
by creating juxtapositions and scenarios that never took place. This
is not all that different than the process that takes place in all my
work except that in this case I was never allowed the opportunity to
ask a question directly to a subject and the subject was never
allowed the opportunity to shape an answer specifically for me. I did
not feel obliged to present a comprehensive view of the story or the
subjects, and as always, I had an
impassioned point of view and presented
my interpretation of
events.
A good deal of
this film is reliant on the audience’s willingness to
invent/imagine a visual inspired by what they hear. Layered in the
film is an intentional attempt to engage the listener/audience and to
play with the location of the listener, both inside and outside the
film. And who is the listener? Who is eavesdropping? Is it one of the
subjects in the film? Is it the audience? I want the audience to see
with their ears. I hope that the restrained use of imagery provides
an opportunity for multiple visions and interpretations. To give you
a specific example, there is a scene where there is a shot of a door
that is cracked slightly open with light seeping around the edges and
you can hear a radio program on in the background as you’re
listening to Tom. I am inviting the viewer to wonder who is sitting
behind the door? Is Tom behind the door recording a tape? Or is it
Jeannie behind the door listening to a tape Tom made for her? Or is
Tom making a tape and his wife is on the other side of the door
listening to him while he is recording it?
SA: I
particularly enjoyed a sequence in the film where one conversation
between the lovers is set against a montage of the seemingly
innocuous trappings of life in a suburban neighborhood: a dog sitting
on a lawn, a modest split ranch home, etc. However the conversation
between them is quite charged, recalling memories of a time when they
were taking risqué photographs together. It reminded me of the
opening sequence to David Lynch’s Blue Velvet: you’re never quite
sure what lies beneath the facade! Can you talk about your visual
strategy for the film? With such evocative, rich audio material; how
did the role of the visuals evolve in the making of the film?
JG: I felt
Suitcase of Love and Shame needed variety and so there are numerous
visual devices employed throughout the film, including times when the
picture is overt and contrived. In the sequence you describe, Tom is
reciting what Jeannie looks like in a series of nude photos that he
took of her. There is nothing unique in this -- similar indiscretions
could have taken place between people in any of the homes the
audience seeing. In that sequence I began with a detail of the actual
home Jeannie lived in and then transitioned to a street of homes
built at that same time in the part of the country where they lived.
While it may appear straightforward, that scene was one of the
hardest to construct.
I wanted to
avoid simply illustrating the audio or providing picture that would
compete with the audio. So in some places, I imposed a certain amount
of emptiness by using no image, very long static shots, out of focus
shots, and seemingly still shots. For example, there is a shot
looking out a window at a street corner, the image seems still, but
eventually the stoplight changes – you realize this when the color
on the pavement shifts from red to green. It’s a minor change, but
one that reawakens you.
I built some
scenes by combining glimpses of slides that were in the suitcase. The
slides were used as a way to include the spectator. Rather than scan
the slides, I projected the slides in my studio and digitally
recorded them in live action. I composed the shot to crop out what I
did not want the audience to see. Some of the machine hum you hear is
connected to the slide projector in that room and I hope this adds a
sense of presence. I was cutting between
the projected slides in a room and film
sets that were based on what was
pictured in the slides or what I know could have been in Tom or
Jeannie’s
home. For
me it was an attempt to move between the present and the past.
Tom and Jeannie
are represented by different tape recorders. I had acquired many of
the actual models that they used over the years. While shooting, the
recorders were isolated on a deep black stage using elaborate studio
lighting and different filter sets on each tape recorder to add
personality to specific to the character - glimmer
filters for her, black mist filters for him.
Using the black
stage to index the contents of the suitcase was another visual motif.
I wanted them to appear as if they were floating in space. The tapes,
tape boxes and envelops, matchbooks, notes with Tom’s handwriting,
Jeannie’s handwriting, etc. Once I decided that Jeannie’s
location would frequently be inside looking out a window, with many
of her scenes at night or dusk, I thought of shooting some of the
windows similarly floating in black so there were visual
correspondences.
Finally, I
didn’t want anything explicit on the screen for the sex scenes. In
fact the absence of explicit imagery is probably more sexual than
anything I could have come up with. I
imagined
the audio content of those scenes evoking
something unique to each listener.
SA: The story in
the film features sex, lies, secrets, obligations –all the great
ingredients to a classic soap opera. But instead of focusing on the
drama, I feel you often chose to focus on the in-between moments. And
despite the main themes of exhibitionism,
privacy and voyeurism so much of the
experience of this film is about two things: longing and waiting.
JG: You are
correct that longing and waiting are one aspect of what Tom and
Jeannie are experiencing on the tapes. The audience is
witnessing/listening to Tom and Jeannie’s anticipation and anguish
over their separation. Simultaneous to this the audience is having
their own experience and questioning their own participation –
the audience is compelled to listen, yet feels complicit and at
moments, uncomfortable with the knowledge and access they have been
given. I hope make the audience feel a
certain level of discomfort – I want them to ask themselves if they
should they be eavesdropping on these lives? This experience is
voyeuristic -- there is no doubt about that. Voyeurism was one of my
strongest impressions while I was transcribing the tapes. I would
argue that I was able to convey this level of discomfort because I
share it as well.
SA: You have a
rich and diverse portfolio of work. It seems that you push yourself
in new directions with each project. Can you talk a bit about your
creative process?
JG: My
interests are broad and therefore the style and substance of my work
changes from one project to the next.
Although I am generally drawn to non-fiction and I frequently produce
long form films. I spend years researching, writing and producing. It
is not uncommon for me to spend a year editing a film. When I finish
a project I like to take a break and open myself up to what is next.
This is why certain kinds of projects find me, because I make myself
available to them. With Suitcase of Love and Shame I was consciously
trying to work in a different way. I wanted to go back to my art
roots and blend my interest in non-fiction and collage. I wanted to
find a project that allowed me the liberty to be ingenious. I am
thrilled that this film provided an opportunity to collage real
documentation with research and fictional recreation.
Yet projects
come to me in different ways, often through friends or connections.
With Leona’s Sister Gerri, it was a close friend of mine, Toni Elka
who told me her aunt was the woman whose picture had been made
infamous in the Reprodcutive Rights movement. Leona… was a story
with personal, political and national implications and I did know
instantly that it was an important subject and I wanted to make a
work about it, although I wasn’t seeking that one out. Similarly
with Today the Hawk Takes One Chick, a South African friend and a
producer on the film Tracey Kaplan coaxed me to begin research in
Southern Africa.
SA: You will
soon have your world premiere for Suitcase at the Ann Arbor Film
Festival, with several more fests lined up to come. I wonder if you
could comment on your experience distributing a film like this. What
opportunities do you see for avante-garde work in the current
documentary film marketplace?
JG: As you know
very little experimental work gets shown, or broadcast, in the US
compared to character-driven work and social issue docs. It is
uncommon to see some experimental film outside the festival circuit,
particularly films made in 16mm. That being said, there are more
micro-cinemas and independent screening
programs popping up. One positive development is that distribution
can be controlled by filmmakers as it becomes more affordable for
makers to upload and post their work. Makers can stream and sell
their work online immediately and keep it available. Although this is
not always the most ideal way to experience a work, it has been
beneficial as an artist and educator to have more access to
experimental and silent cinema online. Perhaps experimental makers
will form more collectives and pool resources like New Day Films (a
maker owned distribution company – of which I am a member/owner)
who distribute social issue documentary. I have to say they are an
impressive group of makers who are constantly innovating new models
to keep work available. I hope that there continue to be people
willing to catalogue, review and organize new experimental work in
databases so the work can be located. Many artists, myself included,
do not have the time to self-distribute our work or choose not to
spend our time that way. As systems change, I’m going to have to
migrate my work to new formats and I’m not sure I’ll always have
the time or capacity to do so in the future.
SA: Many
filmmakers teach as a way to support their craft. Can you talk about
what I can only call the work/work balance and how that figures into
your life as an artist?
JG: Working with
students is one of the most rewarding aspects of my professional
life. I am fortunate
that I teach in an experimental art school that is a truly vibrant
and an inspiring
community of students and faculty. To me,
collaboration is a necessity as well as an incentive in both the
classroom and in my artistic practice. Quite
simply, working with and responding to
challenges posed by my collaborators and students has strengthened
my films and my teaching.
One conundrum
is the double-edged sword of technology. I find Skype sessions, and
working simultaneously
on google docs very productive and surprisingly social and enjoyable.
Being able to occupy the same cyber workspace while editing for
example is of tremendous interest to me – sharing a desktop,
instantly uploading files, exchanging ideas, and getting immediate
feedback. It’s great. With that said,
my workload as an educator has increased substantially because of
advances like this. Most
artists/teachers are artists first. I
don’t ascribe to the notion that a teacher must stay current with
technological changes in the media arts. By extension,
in this current learning environment there are more demands on
students. Students
must be willing to problem solve and research the technology path for
their own artworks. This is a crucial component of an artists
practice now. Faculty can only lead by example. And remaining devoted
to our art practice is good for the students.SA:
What’s next?
JG: I
limited the selection of material used in this film version to audio
that supported this particular narrative and I
want to deviate
from that structure. As
far as the direction of future work – the next
pieces will be designed for the gallery and/or
listening environments for the theater.
For instance,
I am currently investigating a way to present an audio-only version
of Suitcase of Love and Shame. I am still
in the experimental phase, but I know
that I want to expand on Tom and Jeannie’s use of technology
-- their enthrallment with it,
especially the ways they relied on tape recorders as a witness,
participant and sometimes substitute.
Regardless of
how prurient some of the recordings
might be to some,
I believe they are historically significant and I am compelled to
share them. In the current film, I may
have spared or denied – depending on how you look at it – the
audience the brutality of certain material. I
plan to tackle the more
explicit content next. Some of the more
painful and cruel material – about alcoholism, revenge, and sexual
manipulation, which will be salacious, painful, pathetic, and
vulnerable. This
is tricky and
I wonder whether it is possible to avoid
judging, exploiting or sentimentalizing
these passages of the tapes? I don’t
know. What I
do know is that I
will ever
have the complete story.
Suitcase of Love
and Shame will be premiering at the Ann Arbor Film Festival on March
23rd,
and has its Boston Premiere at the ICA March 30th.
Find details here.