Giovanna Chesler

Giovanna Chesler

Historia

Giovanna Chesler directs documentary and narrative films addressing the body, sexuality, and gender. She is an Associate Professor and Program Director of Film and Video Studies at George Mason University. She received an MFA in Cinema from San Francisco State University and BA in Anthropology (minor in Women's Studies) from the University of Virginia. Recently, Giovanna completed a short drama, JAVA, about an artist's obsession with a coffee addict, produced by Lisa Thrasher. She co-edited and served as Associate Producer on Zeinabu irene Davis' feature documentary SPIRITS OF REBELLION: BLACK CINEMA AT UCLA, and she produced the documentary feature OUT IN THE NIGHT by blair dorosh-walther, a co-production of ITVS and CPB nationally broadcast in June 2015 on POV and Logo Network. Giovanna was selected as a Film Independent Fast Track fellow for Out in the Night. Giovanna is developing JAVA into a feature length film. She previously directed the short melodrama Bye Bi Love (HD, 17min) about a woman who receives an invitation to her ex-girlfriend's wedding, Period: The End of Menstruation (16mm, 54 min) a feature documentary on cultural and medical trends in menstruation - distributed by Cinema Guild, New York, BeauteouS: The Trilogy, an examination of three sisters and their relationships to beauty (16mm, 43 min) and hand-some, a reflexive documentary on a failing lesbian relationship (16mm, 13 min) distributed by Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre. Awards for these films include Honorable Mention in Fiction Filmmaking from the University Film and Video Association for Bye Bi Love, the Gold Plaque for Best Student Documentary from Chicago International Film Festival for BeauteouS: Stephanie. Period received worldwide attention as a touchstone on the menstrual suppression debate with a front-page article in The New York Times. Giovanna's films have played at over 110 international festivals in more than fifteen countries. Her new media work includes the early transmedia project Tune in HPV, a web television channel for awareness, expression and entertainment around the human papillomavirus. Giovanna produces videos for progressive organizations and feminist artists through her production company, G6 Pictures. She recently made a documentary for the Pompeii Food and Drink Project and a portrait documentary series for WIN - Women in Need - a shelter program for homeless women and their families in New York City, and short documentaries for the Center for Women's Global Leadership at Rutgers University. Giovanna is a member of IFP, Film Independent, Women in Film and Video-DC and UFVA, and serves on the Steering Committee of IndieCaucus.

Perfil

Giovanna Chesler

Películas

Like the First Time
Director
A long walk home sets the scene for young romance, a trip to the beach becomes an opportunity for quiet reflection and self-acceptance, a naïve mother uncovers the secret life of her daughter, and a sullen teenager sees a new side to her mother. Re-live the journey of young love through six coming-of-age stories exploring chance encounters and hidden longings.
The Pick Up
Writer
Sullen teen Melanie's unexpected trip home from swim practice takes her on a bumpy ride toward adulthood.
The Pick Up
Director
Sullen teen Melanie's unexpected trip home from swim practice takes her on a bumpy ride toward adulthood.
Myself When I Am Real
Executive Producer
A man and a woman see a therapist together in a last ditch effort to save their marriage. Their story has wider implications.
Out in the Night
Producer
Under the neon lights in a gay-friendly neighborhood of New York City, four young African-American lesbians are violently and sexually threatened by a man on the street. They defend themselves against him and are charged and convicted in the courts and in the media as a 'Gang of Killer Lesbians'.
Bye Bi Love
Director
An invitation to your ex-girlfriend's wedding. Presided over by your ex-husband. Till death do you part with your past
Period: The End of Menstruation
Director
As millions of women and girls take shots and pills to stop their periods, the meaning of menstruation changes. Current marketing of hormonal birth control (Depo-Provera, Seasonale, Seasonique, Lybrel, Anya) attracts customers by promising freedom from monthly periods. For many consumers, menstrual suppression eliminates painful monthly flow, giving them more control in their lives. For others, menstrual suppression represents a frightening shift in thinking about the human body and another dangerous experiment on woman’s health. Period: The End of Menstruation? interrogates the cultural and medical side effects of suppression before 'the curse' disappears.
Java
Writer
An artist realizes the consequences of her artistic obsession.
Java
Director
An artist realizes the consequences of her artistic obsession.