In association with the exhibition Having it all, all, all Gus Fisher Gallery and CIRCUIT are pleased to present a screening of IN JOY, a 1980 film directed by Stephanie Beth. The screening will be followed by a conversation between Stephanie Beth, Tara Parsons (Gus Fisher), and Mark Williams (CIRCUIT).
IN JOY follows facilitator Maggie Eyre as she leads a group of ten women in a five-day theatre workshop. As the film progresses, we see the workshop participants embrace the opportunity to explore the parameters of their own selves through "movement, fantasy, play and performance." In an opening statement, Eyre expresses her aspirations for female empowerment: "I want women to become more autonomous… to take more control of their lives… to know that collective creativity is possible." Throughout the work, Eyre is a vibrant presence, encouraging the women to centre their own sense of self as they undertake a series of movement and voice exercises. In turn, this sometimes leads to emotional experiences for the workshop participants who are supported by their fellow group members.
In the mid-1970s, Stephanie Beth was amongst the first generation of fine arts students at Christchurch’s Ilam School of Art to study film. Her first two films I want to be Joan (1977) and IN JOY (1980) are described as companion pieces, each seeking to portray the reality and potential of women’s lives through a documentary lens. I Want to be Joan consisted of a series of interviews with women who attended a women’s conference in 1977. After making this film, Beth says she saw "a chance to explore the non-verbal side of body and performance creativity as an antidote to suppression or lack of assuredness." In 1980, she contracted Maggie Eyre and they co-scheduled a five day workshop in Auckland, which was filmed under Beth’s direction and became the basis of IN JOY. Where many other productions of the 1980s were shot on video, Beth committed to using 16mm film stock for IN JOY.
On completion, IN JOY screened at venues in Aotearoa New Zealand and film festivals in Germany and Hong Kong. This is the first Aotearoa screening of IN JOY since its release in 1980.
The still shown here was taken after a nature-based workshop on day 4 of the film shoot, during which the participating women were given a series of basic items from which to make "a choreographed frame" for camera.
