Mary Bronstein’s Adventures in Moviegoing

Following her blistering debut feature, YEAST (featuring a breakthrough performance by a young Greta Gerwig), Mary Bronstein directed Rose Byrne to an Academy Award nomination in her emotionally stunning maternal maelstrom IF I HAD LEGS I’D KICK YOU. In this edition of Adventures in Moviegoing, Bronstein sits down with Aliza Ma, head of programming for the Criterion Channel, to talk about her love of movies, from her early infatuation with Hollywood legends like Natalie Wood and Marilyn Monroe, whose blend of star power and fragility fascinated her, to discovering the possibilities of indie filmmaking through directors such as Richard Linklater and Todd Solondz. The films she has chosen to present—including Shirley Clarke’s vérité landmark PORTRAIT OF JASON, George A. Romero’s horror bombshell NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, and Susan Seidelman’s punk classic SMITHEREENS—reflect the same uncompromising DIY ethos she has brought to her own work.