Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing's Interests
General
Linda Thornburg began writing and directing in 1972 with the award-winning short
video "Portrait of a Lost Soul."
The first woman director at WBNS-TV, the CBS affiliate in Columbus, she
includes among her film credits, "Oh Dear: A History of Woman Suffrage" and
"Everybody's Neighborhood: The South Side Settlement House."
Thornburg also wrote the award-winning lesbian play "Leap of Faith" and the
autobiographical one-woman show "Good Girls Don't".
"Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing" is her first feature.
Based on the novel by lesbian literary icon May Sarton, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing is a very different sort of film in the best possible way.
Through narrative and flashback, the film tells the story of the writer Hilary Stevens (played by Lucy Brightman as an adult and by Acacia Leigh Duncan as a teenager), a major novelist of the 1920s who ultimately rejected narrative fiction to become a poet. The film begins in the 1960s with Hilary as an elderly woman preparing for the arrival of two interviewers; one is a young female reporter yearning for validation from Mrs. Stevens and eager for lessons on how to be both a woman and a writer.
Through the memories of Mrs. Stevens, the film examines the growth of feminism and the conflicts of career versus family. The fascinating life of a fashionable and brilliant woman —her loves, her trials, her conflicts and resolutions —are all conveyed in a lush visual style that transports the viewer back in time. Rare are the films that examine the lives of our elders; even more rarely are they this well done, as director and screenwriter Linda Thornburg (making her first feature film) brings a deft touch to a compelling story.
Romantic, smart and exquisite, Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing is an easy film to love.
MRS. STEVENS HEARS THE MERMAIDS SINGING dir Linda Thornburg 2005 USA 126 mins video
Eligible for the Dockers® First Feature Award
Co-presented by New Leaf: Services For Our Community Lesbian and Gay Aging Issues Network of the American Society on Aging
Praise for "Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing"
"Linda Thornburg directs this feature film of magnificent scope that
spans 75 years in the life of poet Hilary Stevens, who gained notoriety
in her early years by penning a scandalous novel about a lesbian love
affair. In her 80s, Mrs. Stevens piques the interest of a new
generation of readers, and she is visited by two interviewers who ask,
"Who was the muse?" In flashbacks she guides the interviewers through
the flapper years, World War II, the McCarthy era and the numerous
female lovers who inspired her prolific body of poetry. The film
deftly weaves past and present, and paints a sensitive portrait of Mrs.
Stevens' lesbian identity that spans nearly a century."
---Curve Magazine, November 2005
"... exceptional acting, a tight script and lush cinematography. A
must for both the literary and the romantically minded."
--- image+nation review, Montreal, CANADA
"...gentle, literate and genteel."
-- Kathryn Eastburn COLORADO SPRINGS, independent September 15 -21,
2005
"Director Linda Thornburg and Brightman present a powerful portrayal of a woman growing older:
It should hold appeal for anyone who still believes in love. . . "
--- Rhonda Smith, WASHINGTON BLADE
"It was love at first sight with this delightful, brilliantly acted
and profoundly subtle film which perfectly matches the
original literary source ..."
--- Isabel Dargent, Lesbian Archives, Bruxelles
"...exceptional acting, intelligent writing, and a diverse and beautiful soundtrack
ranging from jazz to opera." ---Tucson Lesbian Looks
" ... technically solid, sensitively written, marvellously scored,
and wonderfully directed. Call it a winner, better yet, call it superb.
Mrs. Stevens gets an A!"
----Clay Lowe "It's Movie Time," WCBE FM Dec. 9, 2005
hear the entire review on WCBE's website
http://publicbroadcasting.net/wcbe/arts.artsmain?action=sectionIndex&sid=13
Our audience loved Mrs. Stevens! I had so many people come up to me
afterwards - women, men - and thank me for bringing in your film.
"Magnificent" one woman said; "the best" gushed another. Our crowd
loved it….Your film is a hit… with clearly a broad appeal. The audience
was entranced, taken someplace they clearly cherished.
--- Carl Bogner, Milwaukee GLFF, Festival Director
"The Merchant-Ivory of lesbian films." Catherine Crouch, Director
Winner
Audience Award--Best Feature, Fire Island Film and Festival
In 1922 Hilary Stevens wrote a novel that shocked two continents. She was instantly famous, but she stopped writing novels. Now, it's 1964 and she has written a book of poetry that has captured the hearts of a new generation.
But even at 70 fame has its price. Everybody wants something. There are stacks of letters, phone calls, a boy with a heart full of grief, and now interviewers.
And, try as she might, she can't avoid the questions she thought she'd buried years ago.
The Story
Mrs. Stevens Hears the Mermaids Singing was first published in 1965. Though it was written when Sarton was 45, it seems to project or anticipate her own popularity in later years. It is the story of Hilary Stevens, a seventy-year-old lesbian poet. After writing a novel about love between women that shocked the 1920s, Hilary disappeared, writing only small volumes of poetry, until 1964-when a volume of her love sonnets strikes a chord with a new generation and, suddenly, Hilary is famous again. In the midst of this new fame, she is beset by people clamoring to find out who she is.
Two young critics come for an interview expecting a "transparent old woman." Instead, Hilary is a skillful opponent in a game of cat and mouse, answering personal questions with abstractions while becoming distracted by rich flashbacks of her Muse, the women who inspired her work. When memories make evasion impossible, Hilary tells the interviewers that the Muse is always female and always a lover. Initially shaken by Hilary's announcement, both young reporters come to respect her and themselves in ways they had never imagined.
Hilary also befriends a neighbor's college-aged grandson. Mar is in suicidal turmoil about his burgeoning homosexuality. Hilary helps him find the courage to live and be happy with himself.
Saturday, October 11th, 2008
10pm - 4am
Moore Building and Bamboo Gardens
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Pandora proudly presents an anniversary event of epic proportions. Join us as we celebrate TEN years. We are transforming the historic Moore Building and Bamboo Gardens into an elegant women’s sanctuary for an evening not to miss. DJ Pride, Alex, Kaprah and Meesh will be at the turntables in the main floor and the beautiful outdoor bamboo gardens. Delicious dancers and shows will take the stage all night. The VIP Bamboo Gardens will offer delectable hors d'ouvres and an open bar all night long. We will also have an auction to benefit the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation as well as introduce the Pandora Race for The Cure team that everyone can join and be a part of.
BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY!!
• General admission tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door
• VIP Tickets that include open bar and vip room access are $60 before October 1st
• $75 from October 1st to October 10th
• At the door the VIP tickets will be $85
Click on link to buy tickets-
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Saturday, October 11th, 2008
10pm - 4am
Moore Building and Bamboo Gardens
4040 NE 2nd Avenue Miami, FL 33137
Pandora proudly presents an anniversary event of epic proportions. Join us as we celebrate TEN years. We are transforming the historic Moore Building and Bamboo Gardens into an elegant women’s sanctuary for an evening not to miss. DJ Pride, Alex, Kaprah and Meesh will be at the turntables in the main floor and the beautiful outdoor bamboo gardens. Delicious dancers and shows will take the stage all night. The VIP Bamboo Gardens will offer delectable hors d'ouvres and an open bar all night long. We will also have an auction to benefit the Susan G. Komen breast cancer foundation as well as introduce the Pandora Race for The Cure team that everyone can join and be a part of.
BUY YOUR TICKETS TODAY!!
• General admission tickets are $15 in advance and $20 at the door
• VIP Tickets that include open bar and vip room access are $60 before October 1st
• $75 from October 1st to October 10th
• At the door the VIP tickets will be $85
Click on link to buy tickets-
