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Michelle Williams Gamaker - 'House of Women' (2017, 14’)

For the character of Kanchi in the film ‘Black Narcissus’ (1947), the actress Jean Simmons had to wear dark make-up and a jewel in her nose to become the “exotic temptress” of Rumer Godden’s novel. In 'House of Women', Kanchi is being recast, this time as a  21st century version with a voice. The film consists of an audition with first-generation British Asian women living in London. Shot on 16mm film, the candidates introduce themselves, recite a personalized alphabet with references to the history of gender politics, and read lines from a script.

"When Michael Powell showed his film 'Peeping Tom' in 1960, audiences could not accept witnessing violence so directly, as Powell directly conflates the camera; a device for recording cinematic images with a killing object. The film was banned. 'Peeping Tom' documents obsessive looking, I love its honesty about the perversity of filmmaking. It remains a key inspiration for ‘House of Women’ and I find myself returning to it often."

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