Sarah Jacobson

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Sarah Jacobson (born 1971-08-25 Norwalk, CT; died 2004-02-13 New York City, NY) was an independent filmmaker, writing, producing, and filming her own movies.

1 Career
2 Filmography
3 References
4 Sources
5 External links

[edit] Career

After studying with George Kuchar, Jacobson began making her first film while in her early twenties. Sarah Jacobson's two major releases were I Was a Teenage Serial Killer and Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore. Both were very well-received at film festivals across North America, such as the New York Underground Film Festival, the Chicago Underground Film Festival and Sundance. I Was a Teenage Serial Killer featured songs by Riot Grrrl band Heavens to Betsy and Jacobson's films were particularly admired within this community. She was listed in Spin Magazine as one of the "Top Influences on Girl Culture." ^[1] Also outspoken in their praise were film critic Roger Ebert, filmmaker Allison Anders and Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth.^[2] Ed Halter, writing in the Village Voice, considered I Was A Teenage Serial Killer,"...a key film of that decade's angrily subversive underground cinema."^[3]

Sarah Jacobson has been interviewed, reviewed and written about in such national publications as The New York Times, Village Voice, Spin, Bust and Film Threat, among others. She is frequently referred to as "Queen of the Underground Cinema". Her feature film Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore cemented that reputation and, in particular, the novel, grassroots manner in which Jacobson promoted the film garnered her much recognition in her specific field. Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore starred Lisa Gerstein and Beth Roman Allen of the band The Loudmouths, whose music, along with that of Babes In Toyland and Mudhoney, is featured in the film. Jello Biafra also appears in a cameo role. Film Threat Magazine, in their Film Threat Video Guide book, considered it one of the "25 Underground Films You Must See". After the release of this film, Jacobson directed videos for the bands Man or Astroman and Fluffy.

As a result of the success of her films, Jacobson was an important champion of the DIY approach to filmmaking and wrote for several publications, including Punk Planet, Grand Royal, San Francisco Bay Guardian and Indiewire on the topic. She was a contributor to the film zine, Joanie4Jackie, a project created by Miranda July to showcase women's independently made and DIY films. Jacobson was also a participant in DiY Fest, a do-it-yourself travelling film festival. In 2000. she directed a short documentary about the cult film Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains for the IFC television channel's show Split Screen. The same year Sarah Jacobson was featured in a cameo role in the independent film GodAss by Esther Bell, which starred Fred Schneider of the B-52s.

She had just completed writing the screenplay for her next film when Jacobson died of endometrial cancer in 2004. After her death, Marc Savlov, writing in the Austin Chronicle, said, "There's no doubt in the minds of anyone...that she greatly helped stoke the flames of the guerilla and indie filmmaking movement while becoming a voice for grrrl-positive cineastes everywhere". Memorial screenings devoted to Sarah's work were held in most major cities across the US, including New York, San Francisco, Austin and Chicago, as well as in Switzerland. Upon her death, The Sarah Jacobson Film Grant was set up and annually awards grants to young female directors.

[edit] Filmography

I Was a Teenage Serial Killer (1993)
Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore (1997)
The Making of Ladies and Gentlemen, The Fabulous Stains (2000)

[edit] References

^ Adams, Sam. "The Virgin Machine", The City Paper, January 7–14, 1999.
^ Sarah Jacobson Memorials. Filmmaker Magazine: Blog (2004). Retrieved on 2006-12-16.
^ Halter, Ed (2004). Sarah Jacobson 1971-2004. Village Voice. Retrieved on 2006-12-16.

[edit] Sources

Dixon, Wheeler Winston. The Second Century of Cinema: The Past and Future of the Moving Image (The Suny Series, Cultural Studies in Cinema/Video). State University of New York Press March 2000 ISBN: 0791445151