SHORT FILM - PRODUCTION, INSTALLATION, EXHIBITION
Written & Directed by Tamyka Smith
Produced by Matthew Shattuck & Meredith Danluck
Inspired by a true story, Gwendolyn Green (Roberta Maxwell) is the story of an elderly, widowed woman living out her days alone, inside a gated Palm Springs residence, as if she were stuck in another era. As her lack of social graces and isolation start to close in on her, she picks up the telephone and dials 911 in search of human connection. She forms a special bond with her responding Officer (Dominic Rains), finding in him the care and connection to the modern world she craves.
Gwendolyn Green can travel as a standalone film or be experienced in its full installation experience — where viewers watch the film within a replica of Gwendolyn's kitchen, immersing themselves in Gwendolyn's world. As the film's setting is revealed, viewers are able to recognize the wallpaper and location of their present environment as it is mirrored on screen, eliciting emotions of isolation, empathy and emotional claustrophobia. The installation is fully interactive — kitchen drawers reveal a life of worn cutlery, hand scribbled notes on the wall provide clues of Gwendolyn's private life and upon lifting the kitchen telephone viewers are greeted by Gwendolyn's voice.
Gwendolyn Green premiered at the 2017 San Sebastian International Film Festival in competition as a part of the Zabaltegi-Tabakalera section, an experimental section reserved for films that go beyond the screen. The installation was also shown at the Tabakalera International Centrer for Contemporary Culture from September 21 – October 29, 2017.
