sisyphus

sisyphus

2005 · 4 min

'Sisyphus' is a silent 16mm film shot on a Bolex exploring a journey that never ends. I made this film at renowned experimental filmmaker Phil Hoffman's Film Farm workshop in Mount Forest, Ontario. Originally, I wanted to create a simple statement about overcoming depression. The ultra short narrative in 'Sisyphus' uses heartbreak as a metaphor for depression, since depression is just that - being heartbroken about life. The creative process and the practice of handmaking films speaks to treating life as a work in progress, thereby positively embracing the permanence of Sisyphus in my life. The lush, organic imagery in 'Sisyphus' was created by hand-processing 16mm black and white footage in a bucket and hand-tinting and toning individual pieces of film.

Directed by Maureen Bradley

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The Chosen Family

The Chosen Family · 2002

The Chosen Family

Interviews of a young woman and her various ex-girlfriends are interspersed throughout this astute and comic depiction of a lesbian’s return home for a family wedding.

She's Safe

She's Safe · 1993

MovieDocumentaryComedy

Learning can be fun! This package of woman-to-woman safer sex videos features a spicy batch of public service announcements (PSAs) and an international sampling of smart and sexy erotic videos, including Girls Will Be Boys, a drag king date where they skip dinner and a movie; and the silent horror spoof, Cunt Dykula. She's Safe! also features excerpts from Well Sexy Women, the first British-produced lesbian sate sex video; and excerpts from the bold, German-produced Truth or Dare. She's Safe! contains the hottest and most educational safe sex videos ever compiled.

Lessons In Baby Dyke Theory

Lessons In Baby Dyke Theory · 1995

Lessons In Baby Dyke Theory

In 1995 when Thirza Cuthand was 16 she felt like the only lesbian at her Saskatoon high school. This turned out to be untrue, but the lack of visibility in her high school coupled with the lack of representation of queer teenagers in the 90's made her make her first video, a comedic short about teenage lesbian loneliness and trying to bribe classmates to come out with the promise of candy.

Two 4 One

Two 4 One · 2014

MovieDramaComedy

When Adam helps his nutty ex-girlfriend Miriam artificially inseminate, it turns into a one-night stand-- and they both wind up pregnant. You see, Adam has been transitioning to living as a man. Now torn between his feelings for Miriam and his need for a masculine identity, Adam must figure out whether he's going to settle down and have a baby, or just try to be one of the guys.

You Fake

You Fake · 2004

What do real women do in bed? After a bad one-night stand, Morgan looks for solace from her best friend only to be confronted with self-righteousness. Their disagreement results in a high-stakes bet to find out how many dykes fake it.

Her

"It was a night of passion, a passion so intense it makes you miserable..."

Losing It

Losing It · 1995

MovieDocumentary

The heady pleasures of new lust and love allow the artist to escape her head momentarily - before trepidation creeps back in. With her usual sensual blend of grainy slow motion imagery and in-your-face sex-talk, Bradley continues her passionate exploration into the nuances and contradictions of lesbian desire.

Defiance

Defiance · 1993

MovieDocumentary

A voice-over soundtrack repeats some common heterosexist lines: If only they didn’t flaunt it… It’s nothing personal but… A simple image, consisting of two women embracing, contradicts the soundtrack. This video examines the resilience of lesbian desire in the face of relentless homophobia.

How to Be a Recluse

How to Be a Recluse · 1998

How to Be a Recluse

engWe live in a busy world and isolation seems to be the only way to escape the buzz of lists, inspirational catchphrases, and reminders to upgrade - now! The peace of ignoring the phone may be bliss, but what about when we get what we ask for and are forgotten altogether? The director mulls over the bittersweet reality of escaping. This video is about wanting to be alone and being lonely - a meditation on the cult of individuality and independence in our anxious urban world.

Jazz Slave Ships

Jazz Slave Ships · 1998

Jazz Slave Ships

MovieDocumentary

Jazz Slave Ships was a site-specific performance collaboration between Vancouver artist Jan Wade and London-based performer Vanessa Richards that involved the creation of an ancestral altar. It took place in two U.K. ports in October 1996: on the West Coast in Whitehaven, Cumbria (the last English slaving port), in an 18th century bonded warehouse used to store liquor and guns used in the slave trade; and on the East Coast in Hull, Yorkshire in Wilberforce House, the birthplace of the anti-slavery pioneer William Wilberforce and now a museum of anti-slavery. The production took place over a 3-week period that began Sept. 30, 1996.

Queer Across Canada

Queer Across Canada · 1993

Queer Across Canada

Queer in Vancouver, lesbian in Calgary, gay in Whitehorse and dyke in… Is identity attached to location and community? Maureen Bradley, on the road with CBC’s Road Movies saw her identity being manipulated by the mainstream media.

What I Remember

What I Remember · 1997

What I Remember

What I Remember is a melancholy recollection of two stories of first love. The narrator relates two anecdotes from her youth, seemingly unrelated, but linked by both their sweetness and tragedy. What does she remember about first love? Awkwardness, embarrassment, secrecy, and abandon. The moral of the story? Once you fall hard, you better duck.

Tainted: Christopher Lefler and the Queer Censorship Chill

Tainted: Christopher Lefler and the Queer Censorship Chill · 1997

Tainted: Christopher Lefler and the Queer Censorship Chill

MovieDocumentary

In a 1993 art exhibit at the University of Saskatchewan, Christopher Lefler allegedly outed the Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, Sylvia Fedoruk. Lefler's show was closed down, his art seized, his scholarship revoked, and he was expelled from the University of Saskatchewan. Mainstream media and the queer community framed this issue as one of outing, when it was also used to attack the funding of the arts. This film attempts to chart some of the reactions to Lefler's controversial and much maligned work.

Not Like That: Diary of a Butch-a-Phobe

Not Like That: Diary of a Butch-a-Phobe · 1994

Not Like That: Diary of a Butch-a-Phobe

MovieDocumentary

Bradley explores her own phobia of being identified as a butch in this diaristic examination of internalized lesbophobia.

Go Dyke! Go!

Go Dyke! Go! · 1998

MovieAnimationComedy

Go Dyke! Go! is a humorous commentary on lesbian relationships in the context of children’s literature. Taking off from the popular children’s book Go Dog! Go! (by P.D. Eastman), this animation paints a sarcastic, pointed and comic picture of queer life in the 90s. Familiar pop imagery and everyday signifiers are a point of entry for a discussion of the patterns of serial monogamy and lesbian representation. Go Dyke! Go! plays with the genre of animation and poses a game of semiotics to deconstruct the tropes of children's books and heterosexism.

Forever

Forever · 1996

A short film about lesbians’ obsession with love and marriage. Using colourful imagery and an ironic voice-over, Bradley creates a playful and hilarious look at this popular cliché within the lesbian community.

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