Leslie Alperin

Leslie Alperin, a native of the San Francisco Bay Area, has been making films for the past ten years. Her work has been shown widely at festivals and film venues throughout the U.S. and Europe. She is a recipient of a Film Arts Foundation "Personal Works" Grant, and a Rhode Island State Council for the Arts Film/Video Fellowship. Leslie holds a M.A. in Film Production from San Francisco State University, and a M.F.A in Film and Video from Massachusetts College of Art. She has taught film and video courses at San Francisco State University, Massachusetts College of Art, University of Rhode Island and the Film Arts Foundation. Leslie is currently working with on a new project that incorporates film, video and digital technologies.

See also Artistic Statement.

Filmography of Leslie Alperin

Against the Grain


(16mm film, work in progress, 1995)
This experimental documentary investigates the personal struggles of a generation of women in their mid- 30's to early 40's, who are attempting to reconcile their past as daughters of the post-WWII nuclear family experience with the ideology and gains of the women's movement.

SideTRACKED


(16mm film, color/sound, 22 minutes, 1992)
"SideTRACKED" my rendition of a feminist quest film sets the story of a woman's personal journey through Western Europe against the larger experience of travel. The mythology of travel is juxtaposed with the mythology of romance, and the woman's journey becomes a catalyst for reflection on the relationship between personal expectations and cultural myths.

3/95 "The Living Room Festival" KQED Channel 9, San Francisco
9/94 "Chapman and Battersea Film Feastival", London, England
2/94 "City Visions", Film Arts Foundation Program, Channel 52, San Francisco
11/93 "Massachusetts College of Art Film Society," Boston
11/93 "International Experimental Film/Video Festival," Holland
11/93 "Film Arts Foundation Festival," San Francisco
4/93 "Athens International Film and Video Festival," Ohio
3/93 "Ann Arbor Film Festival," Michigan
3/93 "New Visions," Other Cinema, San Francisco
2/93 "New Work, Canyon Cinema," San Francisco Cinematheque
2/93 "Two Person Show," Pacific Film Archive, U.C. Berkeley
12/92 "Faculty Show," University of Rhode Island

Soft Chains


(16mm, color/sound, 4 minutes, 1988)
An exploration of feminine sensibility and sensuality through fragmented images and sounds. The film investigates the female body beyond an omni-present male gaze.

2/89 "Works by Women," Eye Gallery, San Francisco
10/88 "Films by Females," Other Cinema, San Francisco
7/88 "The Speculum of the Other," Red Victorian Movie House, San Francisco
6/88 "New Works," San Francisco Cinematheque
5/88 "Film Finals," San Francisco State University

Transplanted Seven Years Later


(16mm, B&W, 2 minutes, 1986)
An experimental portrait of my parents in their backyard. This film was prompted by an incident which made me abruptly aware of their advancing years and by my desire to create "a daughter's version" of a home movie.

8/93 "Garden of Filmic Delights," Pacific Film Archive
1/90 "New Bay Area Filmmakers," San Francisco Cinematheque

From what experiences do you draw inspiration for your work?

My work is very much inspired by personal experience as a woman growing up during a time when more possibilities are open for woman to redefine traditional roles, etc.... Embracing the feminist axiom that "the personal is political" I feel that it is important to give representaion to subjects that have long been buried or marginalized, for lack of broad "mainstream" interest. I am also inspired by artists who explore the film medium in ways that attempt to extend its formal boundaries and develop a unique vision of our times.

Leslie Alperin's Artistic Statement

Films Distributed by Canyon Cinema

Send email to Leslie at zolabird@earthlink.net

List of Film/Videomakers