Filmmaker, Brooke Berman challenges Hollywood norms with Ramona at Midlife ‘RIFF No. 9’s’ Saturday Night Flick
Ramona at Midlife, Saturday Night Feature and Reception w/ Q&A.
Prospector Theatre No. 2. • 25 Prospect St, Ridgefield, CT 06877
Saturday, May 18, 2024 • 7pm
Click here for tickets here
by Lisa Cambridge-Mitchell
Writer/Director Brooke Berman is a genius at getting to the heart of a story and bringing it to life with tightly-knit storytelling. Ramona at Midlife asks the question, if the only way to keep your seat at the table is by creating, and the only way to keep creating is by reinventing yourself, what happens if you get stuck and you can’t reinvent?
Enter Ramona, once the literary darling, now mired in inertia and pining for the past. Deep in the routines of day-to-day life, Ramona is unable to recognize her own stagnation until she becomes the focus of a young filmmaker’s unvarnished lens. Berman uses Ramona’s character to explore how the tiniest shifts in identity can result in a gaping chasm between past, present, and future.
“I am interested in the seasons of success and renewal, particularly in mid-career and middle age, and how we have to constantly reinvent ourselves,” Berman explains. “You don’t have to let go of the past to embrace something new; you simply need to create space for it.”
That philosophy of creating space originates from Berman’s personal narrative. A seasoned playwright at a pivotal mid-point in her career, at 38, the Detroit native and Juilliard graduate embarked on a five-year stint in Los Angeles. There, she encountered the stark differences between the realms of theater and Hollywood screenwriting. Berman compares theater playwriting to a leisurely hike—wandering, exploring, and embracing the unfolding path. However, Hollywood often prizes structured, sometimes disjointed narratives, prioritizing succinct pitches with the familiar and predictable hero journey marked by epic triumph. “I can write that type of story, but it’s not as exciting to me,” she thoughtfully shares.
While pouring her heart out in an imaginary relationship with icon Patti Smith, the incredibly relatable Ramona begins the uncomfortable work of repairing and improving real-life relationships that are key to her identity. “Female friendship is at the center of most of what I write,” Berman affirms. As Ramona mends relationships, she unintentionally dismantles the barriers constricting her into various roles – parent, partner, provider, friend, and writer – to become an integrated and happier version of her whole self. The journey paves the way for her to break free from her rut and make space for new experiences.
Through Ramona, Berman challenges the familiar Hollywood formula. She confidently advocates for subtle narratives in a compact story that explores the relatable everyday struggles of identity loss and the impact of reclaiming agency over self. While characters with colossal transformations like Erin Brockovich have their place, Berman contends that more people resonate with Ramona’s much smaller journey of self-discovery. “We need these stories,” she emphasizes, “so we can find our own Ramona in the everyday.” Finding significance in the magic of subtle growth, she muses, “I love stories where people move an inch. That inch is where new beginnings start.”
“Ramona at Midlife” resonates deeply with anyone who has attained goals yet discovers themself engulfed in a profound sense of emptiness. Berman offers that redefining success is the way through. “What is success anyway? It’s not a static place you arrive at. It’s ever-shifting,” she muses, inviting one last introspection into the fluid nature of life.
A reception with the filmmaker, sponsored by Women in Film & Video Northeast and catered by GALLO Ristorante will be held in the Star Bar of the Prospector Theater at 7pm. RAMONA AT MIDLIFE will screen in Theater 2 at the Prospector at 8pm followed by a Q&A with Brooke moderated by fellow filmmaker, Daniel Schechter (LIFE OF CRIME, AFTER CLASS, SUPPORTING CHARACTERS).
Please visit RIFF’s website for more information.
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