Sweetie

Selected by Christine Vachon; screens with A Girl’s Own Story (27 mins)

“Though she went on to create a string of brilliant films, Jane Campion will always be remembered for her stunning debut feature, Sweetie, which focuses on the hazardous relationship between the buttoned-down, superstitious Kay and her rampaging, devil-may-care sister, Sweetie — and on their family’s profoundly rotten roots. A feast of colorful photography and captivating, idiosyncratic characters, the tough and tender Sweetie heralded the emergence of this gifted director, as well as a renaissance of Australian cinema, which would take the film world by storm in the ’90s.”
— Criterion.com

“The world of Sweetie — a beautifully strange and compelling film debut — is bent out of shape with almost intangibly subtle precision. Campion offsets what could have been a morose drama with an atmosphere that becomes increasingly, and unnervingly, mystical.”
— Luke Buckmaster, The Guardian

Film Details

Sweetie
Country: Australia
Language: English
Year: 1989
Running time: 97 min
Format: 35mm
Director: Jane Campion
Screenwriters: Jane Campion, Gerard Lee
Producer: John Maynard
Cinematographer: Sally Bongers
Editor: Veronika Haussler
Source: Chicago Film Society

A Girl’s Own Story
Country: Australia
Language: English
Year: 1985
Running time: 27 min
Format: Blu-Ray
Director: Jane Campion
Screenwriter: Jane Campion
Producer: Australian Film Television and Radio School
Cinematographer: Sally Bongers
Editor: Christopher Lancaster
Source: Criterion Collection/Women Make Movies

Films and schedules may be subject to change.

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