Hi, I'm Ivy. Welcome to Film Remedy!

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I am a Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer Approved Critic. My work appears in Film Inquiry & Cherry Picks. I was also in the Programming Dept of the Bushwick Film Festival. 

 

This site is a love letter to film. Cinema brings people together anywhere.  A friend of mine lives part of the year in Costa Rica and she told me the story of the time a group of her girl friends set up a huge screen in the middle of the jungle to screen Sex and the City. The women dressed up in their most beautiful clothes and carefully made their way through the jungle in their high heels to settle in and enjoy the film amidst the monkeys and parrots.

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My family ran supermarkets when I was a kid. When two of the markets closed, they brought home the entire video department of both stores for our personal library. We truly had the ultimate movie collection. Having such a huge, permanent library of films gave me a huge appreciation for the art form. Movies offered me so much: great entertainment, laughter, education, inspiration, consolation, comfort and excitement. It was also a way that our family connected; from the fun of picking out the film to making fresh popcorn together. We were sharing a significant moment together, whether it was through the laughter, tears or deeper understanding that the film brought. It added important amounts of joy to our family life, especially during those times it was really needed.

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Good films have the power to reaffirm our humanity, to assert what is beautiful and redeeming in people, reveal what's true, and reflect back that we're not alone.  Because they are done on such an epic scale they have the ability to mirror back the human experience or to articulate our wildest dreams. I don't believe that we have the capacity to leave any film unaffected. It's designed to affect us. I am passionate about the inspiration of that spark to get closer, delve deeper, and dream bigger.

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My husband and I started movie night as a fun house party. We would pick one of our favorite films and serve dinner that matched the movie. Our first one was Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle and we served vegi-burgers and fries and had a big crowd of people come to the party.  The movie parties were the most successful parties we threw. Some of my best memories are of our house filled with our best friends all with roaring laughter - everyone always went home in a good mood - with full bellies and a light heart.  When I started throwing the same parties for just the gal pals, I started to notice something really interesting. All the same dynamics came into play that happened during the women’s gatherings: connections were made, comfort was given, inspiration was received, shoulders to cry on were ready and waiting, important advice was shared, stories were swapped, and everyone went home in a better state then that they arrived. This cemented my love of film. 

 

I'm passionate about expanding the notions of what kinds of films women enjoy, make, and act in. There's a better conversation going on outside of the tradition chick flick machine and we'll join in that conversation here by highlighting a wide range of films.