About this project
The Cleo Project is an experimental short video that uses Agnes Varda’s film Cleo From 5 to 7 as a prompt to explore performance and gender. Multiple women will enact the same scene from the film while being given direction and adjustments on set as cameras roll. One camera will shoot the scene as it plays out. An additional camera will document the director working through the process of performance with the actresses. The Cleo Project will capture the moments when the actresses deal with the complex negotiation between performing femininity and embodying the self.
On how Cleo From 5 to 7 is used as a prompt:
First I picked a scene from the movie that interested me from a sense of performance, character and visuals. The scene I choose was approximately two minutes. I was interested in finding women with different personalities and in having some women who are actresses and some who are not. It was surprisingly easy to find women who wanted to participate.
I typed up the dialogue for the scene and e-mailed it to the women. I asked them not to watch the movie beforehand (very few had seen it). I didn't want them to feel bound by the original performance and I wanted to see how they would interpret it. Aside from the dialogue, I gave them almost no information ahead of time about the movie or the story. Any other information was given to them during the shoot as it seemed relevant to their portrayal.
I am a Sponsored Artist at High Concept Laboratories where I will be working on this video. The money I raise through kickstarter will go towards recouping production costs including the purchase of props and costumes, lighting equipment, rental of a Canon 5D camera and food for the cast and crew.
FAQ
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My wonderful husband Jeremy Bessoff kindly put that together. He offered to animate me when I refused to be on camera for it.
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Several different women do in fact play the "Cleo" part. They are Katy Albert, Katy Collins, Chloe Connelly, Sophia Hamilton, Nicole Ripley and Mary Robnett.
Have a question? If the info above doesn't help, you can ask the project creator directly.
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Funding Successful
This project successfully raised its funding goal on July 11, 2011.
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Digital download of finished project. Thanks on the website and in the movie credits.
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A copy of the completed short on DVD plus thanks on the website and in the movie credits.
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A copy of the completed short on DVD with a handmade cover by Kate plus thanks on the website and in the movie credits.
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A DVD copy of Kate's previous shorts in addition to the new project with a handmade cover by Kate plus thanks on the website and in the movie credits.
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All of the above plus an Executive Producer credit.
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All of the above plus I will bake you 6 dozen cookies, this could be spread out over several months or all at once.
Project By
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Kate Raney received her MFA in Film from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee and currently teaches at Loyola University Chicago and Columbia College Chicago. She makes cut-out animations and video collages with a mixture of 2-D hand rendered artwork with live-action film/video and animation. Initially focusing on reinterpreting fairy tales with a feminist subtext, Kate turned to appropriating imagery from modern fairy tales – the movies. Kate has screened in festivals such as the Athens International Film and Video Festival, the Big Muddy Film Festival, SXSW Film Festival, the Wisconsin Film Festival and the Artsfest Film Festival where her short I Love (Hate) You: Mitchum won Best Experimental Short.
