Filmmaker Anna Rose Holmer is coming to present her film and a master class St. Cloud State University Feb. 15.
“The Fits” tells the story of an 11-year-old tomboy Toni, who joins a dance team in the Cincinnati gymnasium where she boxes with her brother. As she gets involved with the team, she eagerly masters the drills and even pierces her own ears in an effort to fit in, but when the group members begin to experience a series of mysterious spasms “the fits” and she fears how far she must go.
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Following the screening, Holmer will answer questions about the film and her experiences as a filmmaker. Admission to the screening is free.
In addition to screening her film, Holmer will teach a master class from 4-6 p.m. Feb. 15 in Room 101 of the Performing Arts Center.
In making “The Fits”, Holmer collaborated with the Queen City Boxing Club and the Q Kidz Dance Team on the film in order to cast real teenagers from the west end of Cincinnati. “The Fits” was selected by the Venice Biennale College in 2014-15 and the Sundance Institute Editing Intensive Fellowship.The film is both a meditation on movement from the perspective of adolescent girls and explores the phenomenon of mass hysteria known as mass psychogenic illness.
Holmer is a film director, writer and producer. She was named one of Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces of Independent Film 2015.
Holmer produced Jody Lee Lipes “Ballet 422” and Mike Plunkett’s “Salero”. Together with filmmaker Mat Wolf, Holmer co-directed and produced “A Ballet in Sneakers: Jerome Robbins and Opus Jazz”. Her first documentary feature was “Twelve Ways to Sunday,” which was one of 10 films to participate in the Independent Filmmaker Project’s 2009 Documentary Filmmaker Lab.
“The Fits” had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival and the North American premiere at Sundance. It was nominated for the Best First Feature and Someone to Watch at the Independent Spirit Awards.
Holmer’s visit is part of the School of the Arts’ 2016-17 Creative Art Series. The 11 events in the third-annual series are designed to expand students’ experiences and the public’s perspectives by introducing them to new concepts and perceptions in the School of the Arts four disciplines — art, film, theater and music.
