Maniac on the Floor

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More About

• Andrea Arnold
• Kathryn Bigelow
• The Hurt Locker
• Film Festivals
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media

Even though The Hurt Locker's Kathryn Bigelow won Best Director at this year's Oscars, Hollywood is still a men's club. But while women make up only 7 percent of directors, they've recently made some kick-ass films. Directed by Andrea Arnold, Fish Tank won the 2009 Jury Prize at Cannes and the 2010 BAFTA for Best British Film. The Guardian believes Arnold might be the UK's next Ken Loach. (Hey, Yanks, that's a big deal.) We haven't seen the film yet, so we're going to use some cinema shorthand and say it's one part Precious, two parts Billy Elliot. The protagonist, Mia, is a British teenager who survives her gritty surroundings and abusive single mother by dancing her heart out. It screens at the Miami Beach Cinematheque this Friday as a sidebar presentation of the Women's International Film Festival.

In addition to Fish Tank, the festival will screen 400 other films directed by women. As a highlight, actress Vivica A. Fox will be in attendance at the April 2 screening of her film Junkyard Dog. Tickets cost $25. In most other screenings, feature films will be paired with shorts, and tickets cost $12. The festival opens this Friday and runs through April 3.
Fri., March 26, 8:30 p.m.; Sat., March 27, 8:30 p.m.; Sun., March 28, 8:30 p.m., 2010