Season 1, Ep. 1 (June 15, 2023)

By telling movie star Kim Novak’s full story, documentary filmmaker Jessica Menéndez adds layers to her own..

What part of ourselves are we hoping to understand better, or express more fully, when we choose a particular career or project?

That's what this conversation with documentary filmmaker and editor Jessica Menéndez explores.

Jessica was born and raised in Guatemala, moved to America when she was ten, and then made her way to Paris permanently to study film shortly after graduating from Vassar College (where we went to school together).

Despite identifying her dream career ages ago, life hasn't unfolded in a straight-forward path. After two decades working as an editor, Jessica finally released her first solo documentary through the French-German production company, Arte.

Titled, Kim Novak, l'âme rebelle d'Hollywood, the film tells the story of Hollywood actress for the first time through the prism of the post #metoo era. In this interview we talk about the relationship between identity, language and place, how courage and sacrifice play out in the pursuit of ambitious dreams, and what it means to finally have more women’s voices and stories emerging in cinema.

Mentioned in this episode:

Kim Novak, l'âme rebelle d'Hollywood

Vertigo

Credits: Artwork Jessie Kanelos Weiner; Editing Matthew Jordan; Music © Fabrice Fortin

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