ABSTRACT
Su Friedrich is an American experimental filmmaker whose work has spanned four decades, multiple generations of film and video technology, and many modes of storytelling, from hand-etched avant-garde shorts to first-person nonfiction. Academics have long been attracted to her work as have feminists, LGBTQ communities, gallery curators, and independent film programmers. Her topics are often personal and her formal approach frequently upends convention. To name just a few examples, she’s made films about her parents, her physical and emotional health, adolescent lesbians, and the destruction of her Brooklyn neighborhood. This chapter offers an overview of her filmography, insight into how she has evolved with and through her work, and how it has been received publicly. Included in this chapter is a biography of Friedrich, a 1990 Independent Film & Video Monthly interview with Friedrich by Scott MacDonald, and an original interview with Friedrich in 2018.
