Nina Menkes - Independent Filmmaker & Director

Meet, Nina Menkes! Nina lives in Los Angeles and is considered a cinematic feminist pioneer and one of America’s foremost independent filmmakers. Nina’s work includes, the narrative films “Queen of Diamonds”, “The Bloody Child”, “The Great Sadness of Zohara”, “Magdalena Viraga”, and “Phantom Love”. Nina’s work has been shown widely in major international film festivals including Sundance, the Berlinale, Cannes, Locarno, AFI, BFI-London, the New York Film Festival to name a few. Nina’s honors include a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Creative Capital Awardand a Berlinale FIPRESCI Prize for her first feature documentary MASSAKER. Most recently, Nina premiered her second documentary and fourth feature, BRAINWASHED: SEX-CAMERA-POWER at Sundance this year, and it’s how I discovered her and this amazing and impactful documentary which explores the sexual-politics of cinematic shot design. BRAINWASHED has screened widely at A-list festivals and was awarded the 2022 Female Empowerment Seal by the Critics’ Choice Association. But most importantly, it’s now being distributed by Kino Lorber. I was so happy to see BRAINWASHED receive a theatrical release, in Los Angeles & New York City to begin with, this little film that could with a powerful message has been held over due to demand & is also gaining screenings in other cities. I’ll leave the link to the film’s screening page in the show notes. Trust me, you want to head to the theatre and watch BRAINWASHED in a communal setting. I was thrilled when I saw that BRAINWASHED was going to play at my local art house theatre the Laemmle Royal, but the best part of the evening was getting to meet Nina after the screening and having her agree to chat with me on Blissful Spinster! Her time was limited but our chat is full of her insight and inspiration. I’m so excited to bring you my conversation with Nina!

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Find a screening of Brainwashed near you at: Kino Marquee

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