Kimberly Peirce
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Kimberly Peirce (born on September 8, 1967 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is a U.S. film director, notable for her first and, thus far, only feature film, Boys Don't Cry (1999).
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[edit] Biography
Born in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, she has stated publicly that she grew up in a trailer park and that this experience contributed to her fascination with the Brandon Teena story in low-income Falls City, Nebraska. She graduated from a high school in Miami, Florida and attended the University of Chicago, earning a degree in English and Japanese Literature. She moved for several years to Kobe, Japan, working as a photographer and model. Upon returning to America, she enrolled at Columbia University, earning a masters degree in film. Initially, Peirce pursued a story about a female soldier in drag during the American Civil War for her thesis, but eventually nixed the plan due to a lack of personal connection with the story.
[edit] Sexuality
In interviews, Peirce has stated that she rejects sexual labels. However, in the commentary for Boys Don't Cry, Peirce stated that she was attracted to the subject of Boys Don't Cry because it was a story about "female pleasure". In an interview in the documentary This Film Is Not Yet Rated, Peirce speculated the MPAA was offended by the depiction of female pleasure in Boys and suggested her film was slightly autobiographical.
[edit] Films
After reading a Village Voice article about the rape and murder of Brandon Teena, a transman in Falls City, Nebraska, she became obsessed with the story, "falling in love" with Brandon. Frustrated with sensationalistic accounts of the story, she traveled to Falls City, befriended a court reporter, and thus attained court documents. The script and short film that would eventually be elongated into the feature film, Boys Don't Cry became her thesis.
Peirce had been rumored to be involved in a number of projects, including adaptations of A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius and Memoirs of a Geisha. Despite this, since Boys Don't Cry she has directed only an episode of The L Word, and is currently working on an untitled film starring Ryan Phillippe.
[edit] Stylistic influences
Peirce's influences include such films as Raging Bull (whose opening scene she credits for the Boys Don't Cry opener) and Cool Hand Luke. She has expressed a love for the American anti-hero epitomized by Montgomery Clift and that the Brandon Teena character was modeled after this archetype.
[edit] Filmography
- The Last Good Breath (1994)
- Boys Don't Cry (1999)
- The L Word TV series (1 episode, 2006)
- Stop Loss (2007) (in-production)
[edit] Awards and accolades
In addition to winning nearly universal critical acclaim (Janet Maslin of The New York Times called it "the best American film of the year"), Peirce won debut directing awards from the National Board of Review, the Boston Society of Film Critics, and the London Film Festival.
