Our ‘Women Film-Makers’ segment wants to try to showcase the work of budding women directors. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to be making films as a profession, or submitting them to festivals, you can submit something you made for a school project, or just lil experimental stuff you’ve shot by yourself or with friends. All we need is a bit of writing about yourself and the film, and a working YouTube/Vimeo link. Click here for more details on how to submit.

At SQ we are obsessed with our staff writer Rena Johnson’s short films, combining the aesthetics of Sofia and Gia Coppola with the naivety of a teenager her films tap into an innocence and clarity other filmmakers simply can’t touch when it comes to depictions of young people. She’s shared her films with us before (1) (2), and has three more to show as part of Directed by Women.

Observations of Fragility

(please watch in HD)

“Observations of Fragility” is a short film by Rena Johnson and JP Garcia. It is a visual counterpart to a collection of poems written and read by Sala Johnson and focuses on the beauty of everyday impermanence.

Melancholia

“Melancholia” is a film by Rena Johnson and JP Garcia. It is a study of melancholy—of loneliness, of longing, and of disappointment.

Red

“Red” is a teaser trailer and trailer for an imaginary movie by Rena Johnson and JP Garcia. The “movie” is a coming-of-age film about 17-year-old Annie (Faith Geiger), who is having a mid-life crisis. Sick and tired of her mundane, day-to-day routine, she and her best friend, Olive (Rena Johnson), carry out a plan to sneak out and leave their small, suburban hometown.