This Thursday, April 18th, at 4:30pm in Evans Hall, Conn will be screening the Geoffrey Fletcher’s new film “Violet & Daisy”. An Oscar winning filmmaker and native of the area, this “teen assassin fable” is shaking up Conn’s spring event schedule. Hosted by OVCS, the screening will be followed by a discussion and dialogue with the director himself, a native of New London County. To top it off, the event is an admission free, one-time, only sneak preview: this screening comes far ahead of the movie’s national release, scheduled for Summer 2013.
The film centers around two girls, the Violet and Daisy of the title. Played by Alexis Bledel and Saoirse Ronan, an Oscar-nominated actress for Atonement, the two roam New York City as hit men looking for a mysterious Michael, played by Sopranos star James Gandolfini. In November, the Hollywood Reporter reviewed a preliminary release of the movie as a tale “spun out of a Tarantino movie”[1]. And looking at the posters, with both girls dressed as pizza-box-carrying nuns, we expect the film to live up to those claims.
This doesn’t come as a surprise when looking at Fletcher’s previous work, the 2009 film Precious. Based off the novel Push, by Sapphire, the film mixed gritty realism with pop culture fantasy – a powerful, and surprisingly emotional, combination. As Precious was nominated for various Academy Awards, with Fletcher winning the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, the outlook is good for an exciting sophomore production.
It’s a great surprise to have renown director such as Geoffrey Fletcher visit Connecticut College, and even more so for him to approach the college with the offer. As a native of New London County, Fletcher contacted the college to see if it would be interested in a free screening and dialogue for the college and community. The Office of Volunteers for Community Service eagerly accepted the opportunity.
OVCS works at Conn to “strengthen communities, advance college students’ academic and civic knowledge…and promotes intercultural exchange”, explains Jeannette Williams, the head coordinator and personal friend of the Fletcher family. Once approached by Fletcher, OVCS teamed up with Conn’s Film Studies department, the Holleran Center, and CCSRE to organize an open discussion on filmmaking, community, culture and the arts. So far, the film has only been shown at Harvard, Fletcher’s undergraduate institution, and at the University of Southern Carolina. But for Conn this is a more significant opportunity, and one that drives home the importance of OVCS’s mission. To have film industry notable bring his work back to his hometown great moment for the New London community. Don’t miss the screening and following talk this Thursday!