Belle
Fiction Film (2004)
35mm • 16 min. • color
Quietly shocking in its frankness
– Film Threat
Belle is a subversive fable of old age and beauty.
The film is fiction but created with a community of 80 – 93 year old women whose participation as actors and advisors shaped the heart of the work.
Belle trailer (see below for complete film)
Belle premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and broadcast on IFC.
Additional screenings include the IFP Film Market, Hamptons Film Festival, Women in the Directors Chair and the Woodstock Film Festival. Rhode Island Film Festival, Lake Placid Film Festival, Coney Island Film Festival, CinéWomen, Vermont Film Festival, Tiburon Film Festival, High Falls Film Festival, Reel Venus
Belle was made with the generous support of the Jerome Foundation and NYSCA.
Writer/Director Ruth Sergel Producers Pamela Griffiths Nicole Franklin Maya Montañez Smukler Associate Producers Jude Calder Mei Szetu Director of Photography David Griffiths Editor Lora Zaretsky Music Michael Montes Costume Designer Suzanne Kelly Production Designer Paul Weathered Props Tyler Kim Sound Editor Al Zaleski Title Design Steve Tozzi Mr. Fix-it Manfred Reiff Production Manager Carolyn Hepburn
Belle Ethel Greenbaum Ladies of the Boardwalk Marion Baker, Hope Bernstein, Goldie Gold, Blanche Schreiber, Ruth Shapiro, Susan Spielman, Ruth Vogel Pablo George Valencia Cashiers Jennifer Poe, Jennifer Vilette Gas Station Attendant Juan Molinari Dandy Nathan Farb Hussy Deborah Schwartz Store Customers Kate & Lola Buncher, Robert Castanos, Sylvia Cattan, Denise, Sarah & Sylvia Grazi, Shannon Mincieli, Christopher Trudeau Gas Station Customers Kristen Carey, Molly Lariccia, Manfred Reiff Boardwalk Marsha Gildin, Franklin Perkins, Marilyn Silverman Belle’s Neighbor Shirley Seligman Belle’s Son Michael Shulan Secretary Vera Zelen Pablo’s Wife Candice Coke
Special thanks to Fay Greenbaum.
Interviews with the 8 Belles, women from 80 to 92 years, who collaborated in the making of Belle.
