The Girl’s Nervy

Jennifer Reeves (b. 1971, Sri Lanka) is a New York-based filmmaker working primarily on 16mm. Her films have shown extensively, from the Berlin, New York, Vancouver, London, Sundance, and Hong Kong Film Festivals to many Microcinemas in the US and Canada, the Robert Flaherty Seminar, and the Museum of Modern Art. In August 2008, Reeves completed her feature-length double-projection WHEN IT WAS BLUE, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival iwith live music by Skúli Sverrisson. A Wexner Center Capital Residency Award made it possible for her to complete production and post-production on her LIGHT WORK MOOD DISORDER and gave partial completion funds for her recently completed WHEN IT WAS BLUE. The MacDowell Colony also gave support to those projects.

Reeves has made experimental films since 1990. She does her own writing, cinematography, editing, and sound design. Her subjective and personal films push the boundaries of film through optical-printing and direct-on-film techniques. Reeves has consistently explored themes of memory, mental health and recovery, feminism and sexuality, landscape, wildlife, and politics in her work since the early 90s.

Since 2003 Reeves has collaborated with some of the finest composer/ musicians today, including Anthony Burr, Skúli Sverrisson, Elliott Sharp, Zeena Parkins, Marc Ribot, Erik Hoversten, Pitt Reeves, Hilmar Jensson, and Dave Cerf. The daughter of a trumpeter, gravitating toward film and music collaborations was natural.

Reeves has also made a number of experiemental narratives, most notably her highly acclaimed feature THE TIME WE KILLED. The Village Voice Film Critic’s poll (2005) honored THE TIME WE KILLED with votes from six film critics for categories including: Best Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Performance.

Reeves also teaches film part-time at The Cooper Union and the School of Visual Arts in the Photography and Related Media MFA program. —-home.earthlink.net/~jennreeves