Writer-director Debra Granik has been named as the inaugural receipt of the Boston Society of Film Critics’ (BSFC) Career Spotlight Award, an honor celebrating mid-career filmmakers. “Debra Granik is one of the most maverick female filmmakers out there, and is in fine company with Kathryn Bigelow, Lynne Ramsay, and Claire Denis,” said Tom Meek, BSFC President. “Oftentimes, filmmakers are honored late in their career or after their career has finished. Recognizing a filmmaker’s body of work while in progress is something that doesn’t happen enough.”
Boston cinema The Brattle will screen all four of Granik’s features chronologically from May 31 to June 2 with Granik present for a Q&A after each of her films. The tribute will also include titles that have inspired Granik, who was born in Cambridge, MA.
Kicking off the program is Granik’s feature debut, 2014’s “Down to the Bone,” a drama that sees Vera Farmiga playing a drug addict desperate to get clean. Then comes Granik’s second and best known feature, 2010 Jennifer Lawrence breakout “Winter’s Bone,” an Oscar-nominated drama about a teen searching for her missing father. Released in 2014, “Stray Dog” tells the story of a Vietnam vet and biker. Granik’s latest film, 2018’s “Leave No Trace,” tells the story of father and daughter whose lives are upended when local authorities put an end to their idyllic existence in the forests of Portland, Oregon.
When we asked Granik the best advice she’s received, she said, “Work with people with whom you genuinely share taste, sensibility, interests, and even politics!”
You can find find more information about the screenings at The Brattle’s website.
