Not a Pretty Picture

Not a Pretty Picture

Restoration World Premiere. Post-screening conversation with filmmaker Martha Coolidge.

Restoration World Premiere  
In person: Martha Coolidge. 

Blurring the line between documentary and storytelling, Martha Coolidge’s compelling meta-narrative examines her own sexual assault in high school by a fellow classmate. Coolidge enlists actors to recreate the circumstances surrounding her rape and interviews her former roommate to illuminate the consequences and complexities of its aftermath. Hailed as “Brechtian” by critics, the film delves into the often-gendered psychology of rape as well as Coolidge’s own struggle to understand how and why the assault occurred. Digitally restored in 4K from original 16mm elements. 

Note by Academy Film Archive Film Preservationist Cassie Blake. 

DIRECTED BY: Martha Coolidge. WRITTEN BY: Martha Coolidge. WITH: Michele Manenti, Jim Carrington, Anne Mundstuk, Martha Coolidge. 1975. 83 min. USA. Color. English. 4K DCP. Restored in 2022 by the Academy Film Archive and The Film Foundation. Restoration funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation.
Academy Museum film programming generously funded by the Richard Roth Foundation. 



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