The Shape of the Gaze

Optically printed, hand processed and painted: the film process is manipulated to disrupt viewing expectations on a textual and aesthetic level. This repositions the subject and discourse of gender ambiguity available in the gaze. By shifting the discourse of the gaze, the film implicates viewers in the gazes operating between the filmmaker and her self-identified lesbian butch subjects.

Running Time: 7 Minutes
Format: 16mm, Color, Silent
Aspect Ratio: 1.33
Year: 2000, USA
Cast: Denise Conca, Susan Ford, Deirdre Logue, Karyn Sandlos, and Gretchen M. Till.
Distribution: Canyon Cinema, Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Center and Collectif Jeune Cinéma

2000 San Francisco Cinematheque
2001 Directors Guild of America
2001-2003 Cinematheque Ontario

Clips are made available as a sample of my work.
Please contact my distributors for an exhibition copy of The Shape of the Gaze.

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"Some of the most beautiful chemically treated images I've ever seen." Stan Brakhage, Postcard, April 2001. (Referencing Sans Titre, The Shape of the Gaze and Site Visit.)

"The entire piece is compelling and rich with the hand-processing and coloring and the emphatic looks of the dykes." Barbara Hammer, Letter, July 2000.

"Post-riot-grrl ethos informed a number of the best works...[including] Maïa Cybelle Carpenter's hand-processed vision of lesbians and machines The Shape of the Gaze..." Ed Halter, IndieWire, 04 Dec. 2000.

"In Maïa Cybelle Carpenter's drily witty The Shape of the Gaze butch women stare assertively at the camera, intercut with tools and machine parts." Fred Camper, Chicago Reader, Sept. 8, 2000.