Kara Herold
Directing
Biography
Kara Herold's films employ wit, thought-provoking storytelling, and dynamic visual assemblages to comment upon the uneasy intersections between feminist perspectives and dominant cultural expectations and institutions. She has written, directed, and produced a broad variety of films, from short animations to award-winning documentaries. Her films have screened at the International Documentary Festival in Amsterdam, Documentary Fortnight at MoMA in New York, the Sundance Film Festival and many additional festivals. Kara has has won many additional awards and grants, including support from the San Francisco Arts Commission, Pacific Pioneer Fund, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Film Arts Foundation, the Djerassi Resident Artists Program, and the New York State Foundation for the Arts Grant.
Known For
Torn from their home by a hand in the sky, colorful entities seek freedom from a rigid binary in this short experimental animation.
Thine Own Self
Locked out of the school art room, a creative non-binary teen named Frog grapples with anxiety as they seek a new place to eat lunch. Imagination blurs with reality in this hybrid work of live action and animation about finding a place to belong.
A Spot for Frog
Trapped in their frames and monitored by a menacing curator, two paintings long to escape from the art gallery's white walls. As the paintings lock eyes across the room, an unspoken connection between them sets the stage for revolution. With a distinctive blend of live-action and animation, this short film by Evan Bode employs surreal metaphor to explore ideas about power, resistance, queer identity, visibility, and liberation from constructed borders.
Out of Frame
Two brothers must deal with the sudden loss of their parents. As one falls into the darkness of a troubled marriage, the other must find an escape from the evil that is devouring his family.
Black Dog
Onikuma is Japanese yokai, a demon bear known for chasing horses. Surrounded by a foreign landscape, two women will understand that demons can come in different forms.
Onikuma
Khanya and Sandiswa are left outside the local horse gambling arena by their father, under the strict instructions to not leave the car. Khanya receives her period and makes the decision to enter the arena, when she is caught by her father, the true confines of their delicate relationship come to light.
Tab
One day, timid Cecille dares to ask a coworker on a date. As the night progresses, she sets her beautiful and hungry self free.
Little Bird
A satire involving two obsessive characters, Lucy and Jude, and Lucy's best friend Liz. Themes involve cyclical patterns, toxic relationships, and loyalty.
All of Her Senses
An ambitious actress finds her way, and herself, on the road to building a character.
The Callback
An 18-minute explosion of fringe feminism and print media, GRRLYSHOW is a powerful and rebellious message from new voices often left unheard. Filmmaker Kara Herold examines the girly zine revolution and culture in such a way that the film intellectually and stylistically addresses anyone's question concerning whether or not feminism has reached its 3rd wave: the postmodern. By interweaving head-shot interviews, clips from the zines and 1950's television-esque vignettes, Herold clearly illustrates feminism's ability to exist subversively within a system that generally doesn't give women their own voice. GRRLYSHOW successfully brings to the surface alternative voices and projects that are vital to the continuation and expansion of feminism.