“The Fall of Lilith” is an ekphrastic video poem inspired by the painting “Lilith,” by the Pre-Raphaelite British painter John Collier (1850-1934).
Lilith’s story is part of the pantheon of narratives centered on the female archetype. Like all such mythological tales, hers begins as seen through the male gaze. I have recreated her story through a contemporary lens. While Collier paints Lilith as a seductive woman, standing with a snake wrapped around her naked body, in my interpretation of Lilith (in both poem and video), she is a strong woman who was wronged by the Patriarchy and who becomes an archetype of contemporary womanhood.
The video borrows from the old silent-movie style. This choice of outdated method of presentation reflects both conceptual and technical archaic approaches to Lilith’s story.
Credits:
- Poem & video – Tova Beck-Friedman
- Music – Kamila Kostur
- Painting “Lilith” – John Collier
Screeing:
Bettiah International Film Festival 2024, (Best Experimental Short award winner)
Cleveland Arthouse Film (semi-finalist in Best Women category), 2024
REELpoetry/Houston 2024, Houston, TX
Roshani International Film Festival (Experimental film award nominee )
The Film Contest, Online Festival 2024
Beyond The Screen Festival, Antwerp, 2024
ROSHANI INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVA, India, 2024
San Jose Independent Film Festival, 2023, California (Semi-Finalist, Best Experimental Film)
Stockholm Short Film,2023 (Semi-Finalist, Best Women Issue Film)
Frame to Frames: ekphrastic poetry film prize for 2023 @ Fotogenia Film Festival, Mexico.
Santa Monica International Filmmaker Awards, Santa Monica, CA, 2023 (Semi-finalist, best experimental category)
Sacramento Independent Film Festival, Sacramento, California, 2023 (Semi-finalist, best experimental shorts)
CMCS Wall of Fame Festival, Lisbon, Portugal (quarterfinalist)
Reels International Film Festival, India, 2024 (Best Experimental Short award winner)
Paris Lady MovieMakers Festival, 2023 (semi-finalist, Best Short Experimental category)