Photograph Tayarisha Poe - courtesy La Biennale di Venezia
Venice Lido: 72nd Film Festival – Anna
Rose Holmer – The Fits. Anna Rose Holmer’s The Fits is one of the three films
developed and produced in the Biennale College – Cinema, a laboratory for advanced
training dedicated to the production of low cost films, opened to young
filmmakers from all over the world.
The Fits. Toni, a tomboyish
boxer, lands a spot on an after- school drill team in the West End community of
Cincinnati. Enamored by the power and confidence of the team, Toni eagerly
absorbs routines, masters drills, and even pierces her own ears to fit in. As
Toni descends deeper into the girls’ world, the lingering nostalgia for her
brother’s guidance fades away. We witness the joy of her first friendships and
her discovery of dance. Yet, she grapples with her individual identity amid her
newly defined social sphere. Shortly after Toni joins the team, the captain
faints during practice. By the end of the week, most of the girls on the team
suffer from episodes of fainting, swooning, and shaking in a seemingly
uncontrollable catharsis. The adults in their community cannot explain the
mysterious outbreak. Tension mounts. Soon, these fits transform into a rite of
passage as the trauma draws the other girls closer together. Caught between her
need for control and her desire for acceptance, Toni must decide how far she
will go to embody her new ideals.
Staring: Royalty Hightower,
Alexis Neblett, Makyla Burnam, Inayah Rodgers, Lauren Gibson, Da’Sean Minor.
Above. Royalty Hightower,
who plays Toni.
The Fits - Royalty Hightower and director Anne Rose Holmer
Director’s Statement. "At its heart, The Fits is a meditation on movement as seen from the perspective of teenage girls. The film explores the particularly adolescent female phenomenon of mass hysteria, also known as mass psychogenic illness. The rapid spread of symptoms affects members of a cohesive group whereby physical ills have no corresponding organic cause. The Fits juxtaposes the precise, powerful, and intentional movements of drill with subconscious, spontaneous, and uncontrolled movements of collective hysterics."
Photograph Tayarisha Poe - courtesy La Biennale di Venezia
Royalty Hightower and Da Sean Minor
Venezia72
Anna Rose Holmer - The Fits
Contessanally – good rhythm - 6/10
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