Frida Kahlo's Corset

Produced and directed by Liz Crow
Picture This Short Film Award 2000 10 mins.
16mm film transferred to Beta and VHS PAL and NTSC
In Spanish and English. With captioning in both languages

Frida Kahlo's Corset is a short experimental drama that follows a journey of transformation by the Mexican painter Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) who wore a series of orthopaedic corsets because of impairment. The film draws on Kahlo's own words and characteristically bold painting style. It refutes the picture of Kahlo's life as one of tragedy and suffering.

"Liz Crow's Frida Kahlo's Corset uses an orthopaedic corset as focus for Kahlo's fierce refusal to be ashamed of her disability or let it be presented as tragic. Intercut with Kahlo's own words, a scene of clinical hospital whiteness is brought to life by a drop of red blood and builds to lush colour. This is a remarkably assured debut from a new director of real visual flair."
(Disability Now)

"[The film] evokes a Frida exulting in her identity. A passionate and sensual portrait of the artist, the film has the surreal quality of a painting coming to life."
(Disability Arts in London)

"A wonderful poetic and evocative film... Unmissable. "
(Greenbelt Festival)

Screenings include:

• Arnolfini, Bristol, alongside Miramax feature film Frida
• National Film Theatre
• Tate Modern, as part of film programme accompanying Frida Kahlo exhibition
• Brief Encounters Short Film Festival
• British Federation of Film Societies
• Herland Festival, Canada
• Greenbelt Festival
• Munich Festival of Short Films
• Picture This Festival, Canada
• Strength to Strength exhibition
• Cineformation
• Semana Cultural, Hispanic, Portuguse, Latin American Studies, University of Bristol
• Transitions
• Disability Film Festivals, London, Stratford-upon-Avon, South West
• Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
• World Bank training on disability inclusion
• Toronto Disability Film and Culture Festival
• Above & Beyond international disability arts festival
• Moscow Disability Film Festival
• Bird's Eye View Film Festival
• DaDa Fest, Liverpool
• Bodies of Work, Chicago
• Borderlines Film Festival, Hereford
• Purbeck Film Festival
• Propellor TV
• HTV
• Sky Television.

Picture This Moving Image (UK): Short Film Award
Disability Film Festival (London) Best of the Fest
Picture This Festival (Canada): Honourable mention
Moscow International Disability Film Festival award

Frida Kahlo's Corset has been selected for the British Council catalogue.

Producer-Director	Liz Crow
Director of Photography	Carol Stevens
Art Director	Melanie Leeson
Editor	Andy Moss
Writers	Liz Crow and Ralph Hoyte
Music	Caravanserai and Hetty Hope
Main Cast	Isolte Avila Laura Jerram Carmen Brauning (Voice of Frida Kahlo)
Production Management	Infinite Blue Productions in partnership with Picture This Moving Image

Funded by Picture This Moving Image, South West Arts, Transitions, Bridging the Gap and HTV West.

This page last modified: 15 May 2008