The Theatre/Cinema/TV Shelf

The Cinema of Stephanie Rothman: Radical Acts in Filmmaking
Alicia Kozma
University Press of Mississippi
3825 Ridgewood Road, Jackson, MS 39211
www.upress.state.ms.us
9781496840998, $99.00, HC, 280pp

https://www.amazon.com/Cinema-Stephanie-Rothman-Radical-Filmmaking/dp/14968= 40992

Synopsis: The rare woman director working in second-wave exploitation, Step= hanie Rothman (b. 1936) directed seven successful feature films, served as = the vice president of an independent film company, and was the first woman =
to win the Directors Guild of America's student filmmaking prize. Despite t= hese career accomplishments, Rothman retired into relative obscurity.

With the publication of "The Cinema of Stephanie Rothman: Radical Acts in F= ilmmaking", author and cinema historian Alicia Kozma uses Rothman's career =
to create an in-depth case study that intertwines historical, archival, ind= ustrial, and filmic analysis to grapple with the past, present, and future =
of women's filmmaking labor in Hollywood.

Understanding second-wave exploitation filmmaking as a transitory space for=
the industrial development of contemporary Hollywood that also opened up o= pportunities for women practitioners, Kozma argues that understudied film p= roduction cycles provide untapped spaces for discovering women's directoria=
l work. The professional career and filmography of Rothman exemplify this c= laim. Rothman also serves as an apt example for connecting the structure of=
film histories to the persistent strictures of rhetorical language used to=
mark women filmmakers and their labor. Kozma traces these imbrications acr= oss historical archives.

Adopting a diverse methodological approach, "The Cinema of Stephanie Rothma=
n" reveals the problems and successes of the memorialization of women's dir= ectorial labor, connecting historical and contemporary patterns of gendered=
labor disparity in the film industry. This detailed biographical and histo= rical study is simultaneously the first in-depth scholarly consideration of=
Rothman, the debut of the most substantive archival materials collected on=
Rothman, and a feminist political intervention into the construction of fi=
lm histories.

Critique: A valued and substantial contribution to the growing library of l= iterature concerning the role of women in filmmaking, "The Cinema of Stepha= nie Rothman: Radical Acts in Filmmaking" is informatively enhanced for the = reader with the inclusion of a twelve page Bibliography, twenty-seven pages=
of Notes, and seven page Index. While also available for personal reading = lists in a paperback edition (9781496841001, $30.00) and in a digital book = format (Kindle, $28.50), "The Cinema of Stephanie Rothman: Radical Acts in = Filmmaking" is a significant and unreservedly recommended addition to perso= nal, professional, community, film school, and academic library Cinematic H= istory & Biography collections.

Editorial Note: Alicia Kozma (https://www.aliciakozma.com) is director of t=
he Indiana University Cinema. She holds a PhD from the Institute of Communi= cations Research at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She is = co-editor of ReFocus: The Films of Doris Wishman and Mobilized Identities: = Mediated Subjectivity and Cultural Crisis in the Neoliberal Era, and her wo=
rk has been published in Media Industries, Film Comment, Camera Obscura, Te= levision and New Media, and other publications.

Suspense with a Camera
Jeffrey Michael Bays
Michael Wiese Productions
12400 Ventura Blvd., #1111, Studio City, CA 91604
www.mwp.com
9781615932733, $29.95, PB, 220pp

https://www.amazon.com/Suspense-Camera-Filmmakers-Hitchcocks-Techniques/dp/= 1615932739

Synopsis; In today's prolific and competitive world of film making, prevent= ing cinematic audience boredom is more important than ever. With the public= ation of "Suspense with a Camera: A Filmmaker's Guide to Hitchcock's Techni= ques" screenwriters and directors have an easy DIY guidebook for making the=
ir films more captivating, spine tingling, and suspenseful.

"Hitchcock Whisperer" Jeffrey Michael Bays brings the secrets of suspense o=
ut of the shadows. It should be noted that bonus material are included: Q&A=
with 'Bourne' director Paul Greengrass, 'Bourne Identity' editor Saar Klei=
n, '10 Cloverfield Lane' director Dan Trachtenberg, and a foreword by Film = Riot's Ryan Connolly.

Critique: Expertly organized and presented, "Suspense with a Camera: A Film= maker's Guide to Hitchcock's Techniques" by Jeffrey Michael Bays is essenti=
al reading, especially for independent film makers working on tight budgets=
and wanting to successfully compete for movie audience success. Alfred Hit= chcock is an acknowledged master of film making and with this informed and = informative combination of DIY instructional guide and 'how to' manual draw= ing upon his expertise by Hitchcock expert Jeffrey Bays, "Suspense with a C= amera: A Filmmaker's Guide to Hitchcock's Techniques" is unreservedly recom= mended addition to personal, professional, community, college, and universi=
ty library Screenwriting and Video/Movie Direction & Production collections=
..

Editorial Note: Jeffrey Michael Bays (https://borgusfilm.wixsite.com/jeffre=
y) is author of "Between the Scenes: What Every Director, Writer, and Edito=
r Should Know about Scene Transitions", and was producer of the award-winni=
ng Not from Space on XM Satellite Radio. He holds a Master of Arts in Cinem=
a from La Trobe University. Jeffrey's productions have earned the prestigio=
us Mark Time Award, the Communicator Award of Excellence, and have been lis= ted in Time Out magazine. Jeffrey is a frequent speaker and panelist at fil=
m festivals, and contributor to MovieMaker Magazine, No Film School, and Pe= ter D. Marshall's Director's Chair. He is producer of the docuseries Hitch2=
0, a four-hour examination of Hitchcock's twenty works of television, and a= uthor of the experimental eBook How to Turn Your Boring Movie into a Hitchc= ock Thriller, written in the voice of Hitchcock himself. Jeffrey also direc= ted the Australian film Offing David, a Hitchcock homage.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

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James A. Cox, Editor-in-Chief
Midwest Book Review
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Midwest Book Review

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