IMITATING LIFE - The Audacity of Suzanne Heintz
Humor, subversion and audacity remain the key markers of Heintz’s life and work. In setting out to make a film about Heintz, we are participants in her surprising and witty take on the iconography of women’s lives.
Imitating Life – The Audacity of Suzanne Heintz is about a ‘loud-mouthed’ girl from Yonkers, and her strange and entertaining photographic crusade to change minds about women’s roles observed over more than 15 years. Weaving candid and humorous behind the scenes footage, with video diaries and archival material, the entire process and struggles inside Heintz’s pursuit of her life’s work is laid bare in an intimate portrait of an artist, blurring the lines between art and life. As social media catapults interest in her mannequin-aided portraits of womanhood and perfect family bliss, Heintz’s resilience is put to the test by real life challenges in her fight to harness her viral influence and produce more ‘art for good’. Imitating Life unfolds as Heintz races to triumph in art, identity and survival.
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Karen WhiteheadDirectorHer Aim Is True (2013)
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Karen WhiteheadWriterHer Aim Is True (2013)
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Katherine De FrancisWriterDon't Ask Me Questions - The Unsung Life of Graham Parker & the Rumour (2013)
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Pippa McBrideWriterSmithsonian Time Capsule: Beyond Stonewall (2019)
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Katherine De FrancisProducerDon't Ask Me Questions - The Unsung Life of Graham Parker & the Rumour (2013)
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Karen WhiteheadProducerHer Aim Is True (2013)
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Suzanne HeintzKey Cast"Self"
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Pierre KattarCinematographyWhitman, Alabama: An Emerging Portrait of America (2017); The Buzz and Beyond: Reporting the 2010 Midterm Elections (2010)
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Pippa McBrideEditorSmithsonian Time Capsule: Beyond Stonewall (2019)
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Project Type:Documentary, Feature
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Genres:Art, Biography
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Runtime:1 hour 7 minutes 15 seconds
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Completion Date:July 5, 2019
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Production Budget:300,000 USD
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Country of Origin:United States
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Country of Filming:France, Ireland, United Kingdom, United States
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Language:English
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Shooting Format:Digital
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Aspect Ratio:16:9
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Film Color:Color
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First-time Filmmaker:No
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Student Project:No
KAREN WHITEHEAD is an independent filmmaker originally from London, UK. Karen is an accomplished journalist and former television producer / director. Karen’s TV producing and directing work includes The Big Story for ITV and journalism training films for the BBC. Since living in the US, Karen has produced a film on the history of the Berlin Wall for the Newseum, in Washington, DC as well as created several documentary style advocacy videos for non-profits. She is also a recipient of a CINE Golden Eagle Award for directing a short film, “Woodlawn Redux” (2008). Her award-winning documentary feature directorial debut, Her Aim Is True, (2013), revealing the hidden story of pioneer rock photographer, Jini Dellaccio played to sold out film festival screenings including Seattle International Film Festival, Tacoma Film Festival, (winning the audience award), Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival and Tallgrass Film Festival. Eddie Vedder “Pearl Jam” supported the film’s Kickstarter campaign and came on board as executive producer. The film is a co-production with Avro TV (Netherlands), and distributed worldwide by Gravitas Ventures. Karen has also served on the Board of Women In Film and Video, including two years as the Executive Vice President, mentoring young filmmakers, and supporting professional development and programming in the Washington DC Metro area.
More of Karen’s filmography and ‘behind the camera’ mission statement at http://www.furfacefilm.com
We set out to film life through satirical photographer, Suzanne Heintz’s lens as a raw, funny and challenging documentary for audiences that would fall somewhere between Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work meets Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters. Her vulnerability and willingness to let the audience in to her world, and everyday struggles, is something we can all identify with.
But it is also a very personal filmmaking experience for my producing partner, Katherine Wilkins de Francis and I. Something that uniquely connects us to our subject is that we all came of age in the late 70s/early 80s. The three of us have spent the last two decades funneling our creative energy in to projects using the medium of visual storytelling. From the standpoint of about 25 years each working in multimedia (film/television/online publishing/photography), we have been part of a generation of women edging their way forward in previously male dominated spheres and riding along the wave of decades old 'equal rights' campaigns. We thought that was all over and done with. Along the way, we have also found ourselves wary participants in the Internet Age.
So, following Suzanne Heintz’s photographic crusade on the frontlines of a massive online/ ‘selfie’ culture has really been eye-opening. Heintz’s commitment to creating ‘art for good’ spans more than 15 years and her approach is reminiscent of pioneering female comedians like Carol Burnett and Joan Rivers. They all show us that it is still very important to keep on shouting and making a fuss – sometimes take on different personas, wear outrageous clothing, and not be afraid to look grotesque or garner controversy. Suzanne Heintz is doing this in her own unique way with her mannequin-wrangled perfect family scenes of self portraiture.
We believe Heintz’s strong persona, unstoppable will, and inspiring story as cancer survivor and art activist will open doors for outreach partnerships and connect with audiences everywhere.
Our work as nonfiction storytellers is based on the principle that women’s stories are not niche as Oscar winning actresses have had to remind the crowd. We need stories about strong, confident women doing groundbreaking work in the mainframe, where they can inspire others and encourage women to own their voice.