Even if you don’t recognize the name Zia Anger, you’re probably familiar with her work. Over the last few years, Anger has pushed and played with the limits of conceptual visual storytelling as the creative force behind some of the most notable music videos in indie music over the last decade, including Mitski‘s “Geyser” and “Your Best American Girl,” Angel Olsen‘s “Hi-Five,” Maggie Rogers’s “Fallingwater,” and a slew of projects for Jenny Hval.
“Did you know when nobody sees your first feature, you’re still considered a first-time filmmaker?” reads the film’s synopsis.
“[My videos have] helped me better understand a sort of layered narrative,” Anger says. “One that considers consumers or the audience, capitalism, and story all together. I took all of what I had learned into consideration with My First Film.”
Anger searches for this sense of harmony in all of her work, which is why she’s stepped away from music videos and short films to focus on projects that she finds personally fulfilling, such as performance, feature films, and conceptual and commercial work.
Directed by Zia Anger. 75 min. Fri 10/4, 7 PM. Northwestern University Block Museum of Art, 40 Arts Circle Dr., blockmuseum.northwestern.edu, free.
