Still from Marieli Frölich’s What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich.

For many, art in its various forms serves as an invaluable way of expression. These artworks are embedded with their creator’s thoughts, ideas, and beliefs, captivating audiences and other artists alike. The impression these works leave on audiences is immeasurable and sometimes leads to them reflecting on the pieces in their work. This is the case for Marieli Frölich’s What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich and Christopher Wiersema’s Rough Blazing Star, two films that examine other works and create an entirely new visually stunning and meditative take on the pieces using specific cinematography and editing techniques. Both films will be screening at the Fall 2024 New Jersey Film Festival. 

What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich follows the life and work of Gertie Frölich, a famous Austrian painter and graphic designer. Gertie’s daughter, Marieli, directs the film and enchants the audience with a captivating look at her mother’s life and work. Interestingly, Marieli makes the decision to completely remove herself from the film, allowing for a unique view of Gertie’s story. The film first focuses on oral history and then transforms into a reflective piece. In an interview with the New Jersey Film Festival, Marieli Frölich described how she wanted the film to put Gertie and her work in the light and public eye. To accomplish this, the film utilizes specific cinematography and editing techniques that accompany Gertie’s story well and allows for great focus on her work.

What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich utilizes a mostly black-and-white look, highlighting Gertie’s work as the only thing in color. This allows for her work to stand out to audiences, who up until that point have seen only black and white. Also, this distinctive decision aligns with Gertie’s work, which included boundary pushings such as reimaginations of Greek mythology. Gerite’s work was influential and unique and in a great directorial decision, the film abides by similar values. Additionally, when on-screen the artwork is centered and surrounded by all black, gravitating more attention toward the work as it is highlighted against the black background. What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich uses a good amount of b-roll, which helps in setting the period of what is discussed. Despite a lot of information being conveyed, the film also offers audiences a moment to pause and reflect on what they are hearing and seeing. This editorial decision serves the film well, as a key moment in embracing an artwork is the moment of reflection and thought. By utilizing this moment, Marieli offers audiences their own chance to sit with Gertie’s art and the film and try to understand more about Gertie and her work.

What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich also shines in its interviews. The film offers a plethora of subjects, from students who have studied Gertie’s work, surrounding artists, and even Gertie herself. These interviews are greatly influential, as the chance to see how others perceived Gertie and hear from her herself allows viewers to form a well-rounded view of Gertie and who she was to others. Alongside her artwork, audiences hear from Gertie and are able to understand her work more.

What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich utilizes unique and powerful cinematography and editing techniques alongside strong interviews that greatly aid in its messaging and place as an art film. These techniques solidify Gertie’s place in the art world as an imaginative and inventive artist. In his film Rough Blazing Star, director Christopher Wiersema also utilizes special editing techniques and more reflective interview styles to create an experimental piece of reflection and new thoughts and ideas.

Still from Christopher Wiersema’s Rough Blazing Star.

Rough Blazing Star is an experimental work, featuring themes of anarchy, flowers, and poetry. In an interview with the New Jersey Film Festival, director Christopher Wiersema described how his family was from Italy, and this sparked in him an interest in their history. From there, he became interested in The Old Labor Hall, a historic landmark in Barre, Vermont, a location that is important within the film as a symbol for its more political side. Throughout the film, audiences travel through time through interviews, literature, and building tours among others. Wiersema’s film thrives in its editing choice of subjects and interview editing techniques.

Rough Blazing Star leans on its archival side to showcase its themes of anarchy, and to accompany this, Wiersema utilizes large amounts of archival footage alongside the interview’s discussions of history. This allows the audience to set themselves in the period and witness what life was like at the time of the information being discussed. Additionally, the film also includes reflective music that helps in setting the tone for the viewer. Lastly, the film utilizes poetry by Emma Goldman that relates to the information within the film, a choice that suits the film’s theme of expression well. At its core, Rough Blazing Star is about expression, and its usage of poetry and floral cinematography is a decision that stands out in the film and reflects this. The editing within the film is a symbol of expression, and so are the subjects.

Rough Blazing Star’s interviews are unique in their longer length compared to other works. The film sits with its subjects, allowing them to speak more and also allowing the viewer to breathe and take in the information from the subjects, similar to What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich. Additionally, the interviewees from the Barre community are incredibly interesting, with ones such as Alba Rossi, an Italian bookkeeper, and Giuliano Cecchinelli, a stone carver. Both figures are important to the film and offer a plethora of interesting information about the Old Labor Hall and its place within their community. Also, the amount of subjects within Rough Blazing Star is lower, allowing for the subjects themselves to have more of a spot within the film. The result is an ironic twist of a more reflective and expressive piece with floral images and poetry, within a film about anarchy.

Both What is Happening? Art In the Life of Gertie Frölich and Rough Blazing Star utilize special editing techniques and distinctive interview style choices to aid in their messaging as exemplary films of expression and admiration. While the films cover different subjects, both Marieli Frölich and Christopher Wiersema offer captivating and intriguing stories about their subjects and utilize their craft well.

Rough Blazing Star screens at the Fall 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Sunday, September 8 at 5 PM. Rough Blazing Star Director Christopher Wiersema will be present at the in-person screening to do a Q+A with the audience after the screening.  WHAT IS HAPPENING? ART IN THE LIFE OF GERTIE FROELICH screen at the Fall 2024 New Jersey Film Festival on Friday, September 20 at 7 PM. WHAT IS HAPPENING? Director Marieli Fröhlich will be present at the in-person screening to do a Q+A with the audience after the screening.  All films will be available Online for 24 Hours on their show dates and In-Person at Voorhees Hall #105/Rutgers University, 71 Hamilton Street, New Brunswick, NJ. Tickets are available for purchase here.