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ON TOUR! THE BEST OF THE 2017 MIDDLEBURY NEW FILMMAKERS FESTIVAL

What do the most ravishingly beautiful actress of the 1930s and 40s and the brainy inventor whose concepts led to cell phone and bluetooth technology have in common? They are both Hedy Lamarr, the glamour icon whose ravishing visage who was widely heralded as the most beautiful woman in the world and was the inspiration for Snow White and Cat Woman. But Lamarr also had a secret identityas a technological trailblazer who perfected a radio system to throw Nazi torpedoes off course during WWII.

This riveting film weaves interviews and clips with never-before-heard audio tapes of Hedy speaking on the record about her incredible life. We get an up-close look at her beginnings as an Austrian Jewish emigre whose scandalous nude scene in the 1933 film, Ecstasy, caused such an enormous international uproar that even the Pope was moved to denounce it. After capturing Lamarr's glittering Hollywood life and her ground-breaking but completely uncredited inventions, director Dean follows the actress/inventors retreat, during her later years, when she became a recluse, impoverished and almost forgotten.

BOMBSHELL: THE HEDY LAMARR STORY brings to light the story of an extraordinary, unusual and accomplished woman, spurned as too beautiful to be smart, but still a role model to this day.

"Very enjoyableone of the best movies of 2017. Ms. Dean relates Lamarrs ventures, those onscreen and off, with savvy and narrative snap, fluidly marshaling a mix of original interviews and archival material that includes film clips, home movies and other footage.
Manhola Dargis, New York Times.

Yet what what makes "Bombshell" intriguing is not just Lamarr's gift for invention, it's also what a fiery individualist she was, someone who had no regrets about her eventful life ("You learn from everything"), not even its racy, tabloid elements.
Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times

An Autobiography:

Directed by Mari Mantela
From the directors statement: "Anja is a woman who knows everything about cars but nothing of herself. . . The film is a quiet comedy with a warm heart that beats for every character in the story. The audience never sees the outside world as the garage where Anja works is both a concrete milieu and a reflection of her internal world. It is only in the end that we see a vision of the world outside, as Anja makes a journey to the top floor of the car company. There is light at the end of the tunnel leading outside from the parking hall. There is hope for Anja and maybe for every one of us the hard working girls.