By Lisa Peri and Sandy Biello
What do Annapolis Moms and Jennifer Esposito have in common? Both have been told that we can’t lead, we aren’t needed, aren’t relevant, and most of all, and we aren’t allowed to be angry. We also get ignored, that is important too. This week we received a phone call from the Annapolis Film Festival asking if we were interested in interviewing Jennifer Esposito (most notably known for Summer of Sam, Crash, Spin City, Blue Bloods, and NCIS) while she was in town promoting her new film Fresh Kills! Jennifer is the Writer, Director, Actor, and Executive Producer who funded the whole project.
To help you understand just how uncommon this is, there has NEVER been a film written, directed, and funded by a woman that has hit mainstream theaters. NEVER. Jennifer points out that everywhere she went in Hollywood to get financing for her film, she was told that no one wants to see a mafia film from the female perspective without a starring male lead. She was told by one female executive that it was a brilliant script, but that Jennifer was a female first time Director and Writer and no one was going to fund this film. The female executive did tell Jennifer that the film needed to be made and suggested she do it herself, so she did just that!
So now you may be asking yourself, “what does any of this have to do with Annapolis Moms?” Day after day, we see women feeling stuck in situations that they never wanted to be in with absolutely no self determination. Jennifer says, “We are told to be thankful for what we have.” Many women find themselves not supported to change careers, stuck in bad marriages due to financial dependence, passed over for promotions time and time again.The worst is that we aren’t allowed to be openly angry. Where does that anger go? Self harm, depression, anxiety, substance abuse, and disordered eating is where anger goes when it’s not allowed to be expressed.
Jennifer Esposito creates female characters in Fresh Kills who embody this discussion and I implore you to go see this film. If we don’t support these sorts of films and discussions then we are stating that we are not interested in seeing a reflection of ourselves in film.
Fresh Kills will be in movie theaters nationwide June 14th.
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