Film Review: ‘I Want To Be Weird’ Is Interesting, Lacking In Focus

‘I Want To Be Weird’, director Brynja Dögg Friðriksdóttir’s first film, chronicles The Weird Girls Project, an ongoing art film series created, produced, and directed by British-born, Reykjavík-based concept artist Kitty Von-Sometime. The vibe we get from Kitty, in interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, is of a cool friend-of-a-friend whose contributions to a social setting are always welcome. She’s engaging, intelligent, and has a clear vision and undeniable passion for what she does.

https://vimeo.com/127642317

The film does well covering the purposes of The Weird Girls Project, as well as its effects on and benefits for its participants—a safe space; an aid in developing confidence, finding inner strength and developing positive body image; a way to actively engage art and creative process; and a community built around shared experience. Further, we get a glimpse into the personal life and history of the artist herself, which sheds light on how her projects came to be, and what they could mean.

Unexpectedly, though to the added benefit of the film, the viewer also gets an interesting insight into the economic side of art—problems of funding, of being able to earn a living, and the intersection between corporate sponsorship and business interest, commissioned and commercial art, and artistic integrity. The divisions between these sectors aren’t nearly as black and white, or antagonistic, as some would like to believe—that’s what makes it so interesting, and refreshing to see.

The misstep this film takes, though, is with a sudden reduction of pace, content, and focus as a way to develop the third act. What was a broader overview of the themes, goals, and inner machinations of The Weird Girls Project becomes instead a look into the hunt for resources, stress and planning behind the creation of a series of commissioned light sculptures. It screens as tacked-on supplemental material, rather than resolutive or agglutinative content, as it was perhaps intended to be. And though fairly interesting in its own right, this turn lacks the focus and energy of the film’s main subject. Luckily the director is competent enough, the content and persons involved engaging enough, that the most this shift does is to make the run-time feel a bit longer than it is, or needs to be.

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See Also:

Breaking Weird: Girls Kitty And Brynja Dögg At Nordisk Panorama
Last weekend’s Nordisk Panorama film festival saw the international premiere of Brynja Dögg Friðriksdóttir’s documentary, ‘I Want To Be Weird’, which focuses on the exploits of conceptual visual artist Kitty Von-Sometime. Kitty is perhaps most well-known for The Weird Girls Project, a visual art series that aims to involve women from all walks of life in artistic creation.

On Thick Ice With Kitty Von-Sometime

Kitty Von Sometime Plans To Strike Again!