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There’s Never Been a Movie Like ‘My First Film’ — Director Zia Anger’s Metatextual Odyssey Back to Her Debut Feature’s Disastrous Production
Zia Anger discusses reconfiguring her performance piece for Mubi's 'My First Film' after directing music videos for Mitski, Beach House and more.
After spending the 2010s directing music videos for artists like Mitski and Beach House, Anger crafted a live performance piece, also titled “My First Film,” re-examining the same turbulent period of her life that’s fictionalized here. The feature, now streaming on Mubi after a roadshow rollout through select cities, stars Odessa Young as Vita: a fictionalized version of Zia that sees her unqualified artistic enthusiasm for her scrappy movie collapse amid a pile-up of shitty boyfriend drama, Adderall spirals and a careless disregard for her crew’s well-being. Shot in a dizzying whirl by DP Ashley Conner (also fictionalized as a character in the story), “My First Film” flexes a discomforting psychological grip — made all the more intimate by splintering the drama in the edit with Anger’s own home videos and behind-the-scenes footage.
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