Instagram story viewer> @annaweltner> Posts

Anna Weltner

@annaweltner

882

followers

2446

following

Nonfiction gal. 🎥 💁🏼‍♀️
📍Portland, OR
Watch my films!👇🏼

POSTS STORIES REELS TAGGED

3

9

2 years ago

Portland! This is your chance to hear me talk about my pet favorite subject: Grey Gardens!

EXPLORING MELODRAMA IN A HAUNTED HOUSE: GREY GARDENS
🗓: Tuesday, March 3
🕰: 7pm
📍: PSU’s Lincoln Hall, LH 115
🎟: Link in bio! (PSU students get in free w/ student ID)

In this two-hour talk, I reappraise Grey Gardens (you know, David and Albert Maysles’ 1975 documentary portrait of two high-society women living in squalor in a crumbling East Hamptons mansion?) as both a melodrama and a work of gothic horror.

After outlining the key features of both the gothic and melodramatic modes, this talk explores how, and why, these genre conventions are present in a nonfiction film.

Digressions include: Drew Barrymore, Documentary Now!, Little Edie as a queer icon, Tennessee Williams’ mentally fragile belles, and Edgar Allan Poe’s short story “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

And don’t worry: familiarity with the film is not required to enjoy this deep dive. See you next week!

#greygardens #documentary #mayslesbrothers #littleedie #directcinema by @annaweltner

3

1

8 months ago

Experiment in Terror (1962) is a neo-noir you’ve never heard of,* which Blake Edwards made after Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) but before The Pink Panther (1963).

The film modernizes the noir genre, paving the way for the neo-noirs of the 90s and 2000s—including David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, Lost Highway, and Mulholland Drive.

We watched this film last week as part of my @moviemadness_pdx class “The Making of David Lynch.”

I wrote about it over in this week’s “Field notes” over on Substack (🔗 in bio).

*I mean, unless you were there on Thursday. 😉

#filmhistory #filmnoir #blakeedwards #neonoir #filmappreciation #filmstills #blackandwhite taken in Portland, Oregon by @annaweltner

3

3

a year ago

Collected these visual references to The Wizard of Oz in the work of David Lynch while researching last week’s class for @moviemadness_pdx

1-3: Wild at Heart
4: Lost Highway
5: The Elephant Man
6: Twin Peaks: The Return

The class is about the films that inspired Lynch, and last week we watched The Wizard of Oz with a new set of eyes. 👠✨👀

As fun as it is to spot these visual clues, we tried to look for less obvious connections as well—themes, motifs, and storytelling techniques.

I wrote about the Oz/Lynch connection in my latest “field note” up on Substack (🔗 in bio).

Unplanned digressions include The Matrix and the Robert Burns poem “Tam O’Shanter.”

#wizardofoz #davidlynch #wildatheart #losthighway #elephantman #twinpeaksthereturn #filmstudies #moviemadnessuniversity taken in Portland, Oregon by @annaweltner

3

2

a year ago

I’m trying this thing where I’m turning my movie lectures for @moviemadness_pdx into short articles I’m calling “field notes.” ✍️🌲

This week, I wrote about the silent-era Surrealist and avant-garde filmmakers who influenced David Lynch: Luis Buñuel, Salvador Dali, Fernand Léger, Maya Deren, and Germaine Dulac. 🐚

Next week, I write about another Lynch influence: The Wizard of Oz! 🌪️

🔗 in bio (my Substack)

#silentfilm #avantgarde #filmhistory #surrealism #surrealistcinema #experimentalfilm #mayaderen #germainedulac #davidlynch #moviemadness #moviemadnessuniversity taken in Portland, Oregon by @annaweltner

3

4

a year ago

Sharing a short piece I wrote last spring on David Lynch! 🦉🌲💃☕️🥧🌀

I’ve been deep in the Lynch research lately as I prepare for my upcoming @moviemadness_pdx class “The Making of David Lynch,” which is already sold out! Who got a ticket? 🙋🙋‍♀️

I want to share something with folks who can’t make it, so I’ll be posting weekly “Field Notes” from this course on my new Substack. These are essentially my lecture notes turned into short essays, plus cool insights from our class discussions. I figure I’m already doing the research, so it’s not out of my way.

Instead of being a retrospective, this four-week class is all about the films that inspired Lynch, so that’s what I’ll be writing about. I’ve broken it into four themes: Surrealism, Fantasy, Noir, and Melodrama.

Can’t wait for September!

#davidlynch #lynchian #filmappreciation #moviemadness #moviemadnessuniversity #filmeducation #filmwriter taken in Portland, Oregon by @annaweltner

3

4

a year ago

Wrote about how Ilene Segalove’s video art compilation The Mom Tapes 1974-1978 is the perfect companion to a late-summer malaise. 🏊‍♀️ Link in bio. 💙

#videoart #vhs #california #summertime #summertimesadness #cinéma #ilenesegalove by @annaweltner

3

0

a year ago

I’m on Substack! Latest post linked in bio. Find out what “going in cheese-first” means. 🧀 by @annaweltner

3

0

a year ago

My very niche film newsletter is now on Substack! 🔗 in bio.

Back when I was crowdfunding for my documentary about the @toyfilmmuseum, I started a monthly newsletter called Kachinko to keep supporters in the loop. Kachinko means clapperboard (🎬) in Japanese, so it seemed a fitting name for this monthly bulletin about making a film in Japan.

Now that I’m in post-production, the newsletter has been getting more reflective about the creative process in a way that I’m enjoying. In the most recent issue, I talk about holding a work-in-progress screening, the value of critique as an independent artist, and how I get the most out of a feedback session.

I’ve now moved Kachinko to Substack so new people can join! The latest issue is a freebie; most will be paywalled to be fair to my crowdfunding supporters. However, it’s not a very big paywall and you can read for free for a week, so go check it out.

Also, shoutout to my sister for my very first Substack “like.” 😘 She is doing the lord’s work.

#documentary #newsletter #substack #creativeprocess #workinprogress #wip #kyoto #japan #silentfilm #silentcinema #japanesecinema #toyfilmmuseum #independentfilmmaker by @annaweltner

3

0

a year ago

All right pals! Last official day to contribute to this campaign (🔗 in bio)! It’s been such an inspiring ride. 🎢 In a week, I’ll be in Kyoto again with these lovely people again!! 😍🌸 I’ve made some wonderful connections (and re-connected with old friends) as a result of this crowdfunding effort, which was my first ever. Also: someone who was at the museum when we were filming last year donated to the film AND they made this wonderful artwork for it (swipe a bit, it’s toward the end)! You guys are the BEST. 😍 I’m not crying. 🥲 taken in Kyoto, Japan by @annaweltner

3

0

2 years ago

There are FOUR (4) days left to contribute to my documentary film project about the wonderful @toyfilmmuseum in Kyoto! Campaign page is in bio. I was supposed to write a campaign update on there but ended up waxing lyrical about the power of art in dark times. 🕯 Earlier this week, the sign was installed at the Toy Film Museum’s new location and they were thoughtful enough to document the moment. Happy to see this gorgeous new exterior artwork as well. Their new space used to be a kimono factory, so I love seeing this connection! 👘 🎥 taken in Kyoto, Japan by @annaweltner

3

0

2 years ago

3

0

2 years ago