Bette Gordon (born June 22, 1950) is an American

filmmaker Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...

and professor at

Columbia University School of the Arts The Columbia University School of the Arts (also known as School of the Arts or SoA) is the fine arts graduate school of Columbia University in Morningside Heights, New York (state), New York. It offers Master of Fine Arts (MFA) degrees in Film, ...

. She is best known for her films '' Variety'' (1983) and ''

Handsome Harry ''Handsome Harry'' is a 2009 American film written by Nicholas T. Proferes and directed by Bette Gordon. It was the first film produced by Worldview Entertainment and stars Jamey Sheridan, Steve Buscemi, Mariann Mayberry, Aidan Quinn, John Sav ...

'' (2009), both of which received critical acclaim in North America and abroad.

Personal life

Gordon began making films in the mid-1970s in the

Midwestern United States The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, including in Chicago, Illinois and Madison, Wisconsin. These short films were experimental, dealing with movement through place, sexuality, culture, and structure. She cites French New Wave filmmaker

Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French and Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as ...

as a major inspiration to her as an artist and a filmmaker saying, "Having grown up through the '70s, I could not have found a more appropriate mentor. His radical approach to the use of sound and image helped shape me as much as the questions he asked the viewer to consider, most importantly, the relationship between truth and fiction." She also lists Wong Kar Wai's ''

In the Mood for Love ''In the Mood for Love'' () is a 2000 romantic drama film written, directed, and produced by Wong Kar-wai. A co-production between Hong Kong and France, the film follows a man ( Tony Leung) and a woman ( Maggie Cheung) in 1962 who discover tha ...

'', R.W. Fassbinder,

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

and films like ''

The Last Picture Show ''The Last Picture Show'' is a 1971 American coming-of-age drama film directed by Peter Bogdanovich and co-written by Bogdanovich and Larry McMurtry, adapted from the 1966 semi-autobiographical novel by McMurtry. The film's ensemble cast incl ...

'' and ''

Midnight Cowboy ''Midnight Cowboy'' is a 1969 American drama film directed by John Schlesinger, adapted by Waldo Salt from the 1965 novel by James Leo Herlihy. The film stars Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, with supporting roles played by Sylvia Miles, J ...

'' as inspirational for their portrayal of relationships and love. She considers the time she spent in New York in the early 1980s instrumental to her career because she was able to collaborate with new artists for the sake of creating art rather than making money. At that period, she also shifted to making more feature-length films. She is a friend of actor

Steve Buscemi Steven Vincent Buscemi (,As stated in interviews by Buscemi himself. It is not uncommon for people to pronounce his name or instead. ; born December 13, 1957) is an American actor. He is known for his work as an acclaimed character actor. Mul ...

and cast him in her film ''Handsome Harry'' because she felt as though it was a role unlike any he had ever played before. Gordon married Australian filmmaker Tim Burns and they have one daughter, Lili Burns. In December 2023, alongside 50 other filmmakers, Gordon signed an open letter published in ''

Libération (), popularly known as ''Libé'' (), is a daily newspaper in France, founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968 in France, May 1968. Initially positioned on the far left of Fr ...

'' demanding a ceasefire and an end to the killing of civilians amid the 2023 Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, and for a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to be established for humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages.

Career

Gordon is said to be "known for her bold explorations of themes related to sexuality, violence and power." Her film ''Variety'' explores the relationship between women, pornography and voyeurism. The title character of the film "turns the tables on men" by renegotiating the historically exploitative relationship between men and women with respect to pornographic films. She says, "My films have always focused on the visual aspects of storytelling. I've been drawn to stories in which color, texture and mood are as central to the narrative as character and plot." Though much of her work is focused on women and the female experience, some of her recent work - most notably ''Handsome Harry'' - examines the social constraints placed on men and tensions between hetero-normative masculinity and homosexuality. In the film, described as "relentless" by a review in ''The New York Times'', the main character is struggling to confront the emotional and physical trauma he and his friends inflicted on a homosexual friend while in the Navy many years prior.

Academia

Gordon holds a BA, MA, and MFA from The

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

and is now a part of the film department of Columbia University School of the Arts. Some of her films are now a part of permanent collections in several different museums including the

Museum of Modern Art The Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) is an art museum located in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, on 53rd Street (Manhattan), 53rd Street between Fifth Avenue, Fifth and Sixth Avenues. MoMA's collection spans the late 19th century to the present, a ...

and the

Whitney Museum of American Art The Whitney Museum of American Art, known informally as "The Whitney", is a Modern art, modern and Contemporary art, contemporary American art museum located in the Meatpacking District, Manhattan, Meatpacking District and West Village neighbor ...

Selected filmography

* 1974: ''Michigan Avenue'' (short) * 1974: ''I-94'' (short) * 1975: ''

United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...

'' (short; co-directed with James Benning) * 1976: ''An Algorithm'' (short) * 1978: ''Exchanges'' (short) * 1980: ''Empty Suitcases'' (short) * 1981: ''Anybody's Woman'' * 1983: '' Variety'' * 1986: ''Greed - Pay to Play'' (short) * 1998: ''Luminous Motion'' * 2003: ''Life on the Line'' (TV Movie) * 2009: ''

'' * 2016: '' The Drowning''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Bette Film directors from Massachusetts American women film directors Living people 1950 births American film editors University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Columbia University faculty