MY BLESSINGS

Director Bill Mousoulis / 1997 / Australia

This intriguing character study of a woman liv­ing in inner-city Melbourne, follows filmmak­er Jane Friedman (played by Marie-Louise Walker) over the course of six days, illuminating her thoughts and feelings by making use of a voice-over that corresponds with her diary entries. Over these six days she experiences var­ious highs and lows, in both her personal and vocational lives.

This film has a unique artistic temperament and eschews 90s stylised cinema in favour of a low-key, realist approach. With the use of real places and real people giving the film a docu­mentary feel it still is able to maintain a highly formal painterly style with scenes presented in a classically framed tableaux.

My Blessings marks the feature debut of direc­tor Bill Mousoulis (well known in Melbourne filmmaking circles and co-founder of the Mel­bourne Super-8 Film Group). This is genuine independent filmmaking, Mousoulis having fund­ed the shooting stage himself.

The film is a fine example of 'personal' cinema in its examination of a particular individual and self-portaiture of a filmmaker, that recalls the minimalist, austere dramas of Robert Bresson.

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