Friday, September 16, 2011

Miriam: A Serialized Interview with Brian Pera -- Part Three of Five


Yesterdays two winners, chosen using random.org, are Fernando and Zazie! Get in touch with me at the e-mail to the left and I'll send your prize packages posthaste!




For me, serialization means a story keeps on deepening and expanding over time.” -- Brian Pera, Writer and Director 



“Woman’s Picture,” the film, is a beginning. Filmmaker Brian Pera plans to continue exploring these characters in an open-ended series of short, web-based films over the next ten years or so. 


The segments, while at first view may seem unrelated as stories, do relate on “subterranean levels of mood and theme,” according to Pera. This is a process he likens to perfumes from a long established house like Chanel. Compare two of them, and the differences are obvious. But, when looking at the line through time, the differences become more muted, while the parallels become more apparent, and more complex.


Visit the other participating blogs for different angles. They’re listed at the end of this (and subsequent) posts. And stop by Evelyn Avenue  for all sorts of interesting stuff. “Miriam,” which is to be released in early October, will be sold there, and through Lucky Scent




Andy Tauer has provided a very generous allotment of sample prize packages for the drawing, too. Details appear at the end of this post.


Pera has also done a fascinating series of short films in which women talk about their memories of perfumes, loved ones and the links between them. Look for "Melissa" here on Saturday, September 17th.


It seemed appropriate to serialize this interview, which was conducted online, as well. So it is appearing over a five day period.




Question 3: Which Miriam does the completed, real-life perfume “Miriam” represent to you? 


Pera: “The Miriam perfume is amazing to me.  I think Andy based it on the character and her world, as well as on Ann Magnuson's performance, but also on the things I'd written about my grandmother's perfume, and losing it, and how that felt.  So it's like another creative mind was there with me when that bottle of perfume shattered. Andy rescued it in a way by paying it homage.  The perfume he created isn't the same as my grandmother's was, but it doesn't need to be.  


What matters is that, based on this story I filmed -- which is grounded in real experience for me -- he created a new memory. That helps me deal with the fact that my grandmother's perfume, and my grandmother, are gone.  In a way, they're not gone now.  They live on in Miriam - in someone's appreciation for and understanding of what this person and her fragrance represented to me, the same way that Ann's performance memorializes them.  As far as how the Miriam perfume relates to the character in the film, it's replaced any perfume I might have imagined while we were shooting the piece.  For me, it's become the fragrance Miriam's mother wore, and when I smell it I feel like I might be a little closer to sharing in its importance to her, something that only exists in smell, way outside of words.  


By the time we filmed ROSE, the film which revisits Miriam and her mother, which takes place several years earlier, I imagined that the perfume we were all talking about was the one Andy's created.  So it was a nice creative exchange that way - my work inspiring him, and his inspiring mine.  The “Miriam” this fragrance represents to me is the one who values the past and lives with it both comfortably and uncomfortably, trying to reconcile it with the realities of the present.  The perfume is dreamy and strong like her, a space for the imagination.  It embodies her respect for people and places and the continuum of history and feeling they exist within.”




Visit the other participating blogs for more exploration of “Woman’s Picture,” reviews and short films in which women talk about their memories of perfumes. Links appear at the end of this post.




 The drawing: Each day, I’ll pick two winners at random from that day’s comments, who will each win a package from Tauer Perfumes. This includes a sample of the fragrance “Miriam” and a sneak-preview DVD version of the “Miriam” short film, which opens in October. I’ll announce the names of the previous day’s winners with each day’s post.


Previous winners of the “Miriam” package won’t be eligible to win again until the drawing for the Grand Prize, a purse-sized sprayer of “Miriam,” which all commenters are eligible to win. That random drawing will be held at the end of the five-day series, and announced at 9:00 a.m. US Eastern Daylight Time, Monday, Sept. 19th. 


All winners must contact me with postal details at the email listed to the left, by midnight US Eastern Daylight Time, Friday, Sept. 30th. Otherwise, I’ll do a random drawing to select alternates.




Other participating blogs are:






Perfume Posse


Photo by Andy Tauer.



15 comments:

Irina said...

this is a great interview- the insight to the creation proccess, the way Andy was able to influence the film- all this is great stuff
thank you

Undina said...

It's still 15th where I live but since this part has been already published I should probably try my luck here.
Please enter me into the draw.

Anonymous said...

I am trying to be lucky, hopefully. Alica - alica@cleis.net. Thx

Jaki said...

I have an olfactory image of what this perfume smells like in my head after reading all the promotional blurbs and I'd really love to see if the smell lives up to the image I have.

Asali said...

I love the Tauer output, and would be very happy to try this one. Thanks for the great interview and the draw :-)

Veta said...

Does it mean that the aldehydic perfume symbolize a strong women? :)

Sebastiano R said...

Let's see if this is the lucky one ;)

womo531 said...

I love how Andy took memories and bottled it in Miriam while putting in his own creativity and interpretations!

a.k.a. Warum said...

Oh, how nice that the films revisit the same characters. I love that. My favorite books always have sequels, too.

Please enter me in the draw.

Maureen said...

I am so excited to see this film and experience this fragrance. Please enter me in the draw...thank you.

Elisa said...

That story of the lost perfume is so heartbreaking!

Anonymous said...

I am also enjoying these posts, and hoping to be lucky!

Susan said...

Is it too late to enter this one? A little confused. Ah well! :)

Jaki said...

I would love to smell andy's latest creation.

Unknown said...

Really I am getting so much appreciate to read your blogs, it is an interesting one.

There is a variety of oxytocin sprays available in the market. They help many people to achieve their goals in an incredible way. When any person smells these oxytocins,their own natural oxytocin level increases immediately to create a bond. The automatic bonding results in trust building and making the other person feel more comfortable.For further information visit :-
pheromone perfumes