:: Girl In A Mirror

Girl In A Mirror is a moving documentary that traces the life and times of Australian photographer Carol Jerrems by writer/director Kathy Drayton. Inspired by an exhibition of 20th century photography, which included three photographs by Jerrems, Drayton initiated the project after a surprising discovery that there was little known about the photographer and her extraordinary life.

Nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the upcoming 2005 Australian Film Industry (AFI) Awards, the film depicts Jerrems as a young Australian woman ahead of her times during the 1970s until her death in 1980. Her simple, yet expressive style represented the new wave movement and her life was dedicated to photography whether she was behind or in front of the camera: she was an avid photographer, taught photography at a high school, modelled for friends and directed a short film. Constantly armed with a camera, she specialised in portraiture and captured subjects that interested her in their most candid of moments: friends, lovers, nightclub strippers, indigenous revellers and even a young band of gang members.

Drayton presents Jerrems’ life in a poetic and poignant story using a very contemplative and partially first-hand narrative. We get a glimpse into Jerrems’ turbulent and self-destructive life through a combination of photographic image sequences (more than one hundred stills, film proofs, negatives and shorts) and entries from her journal, as well as interviews with her friends, family and partners and re-enactments of particular incidents that occurred. The opening sequence is particularly powerful and effective to the storytelling process with a flash sequence of memorable works that represent stages in her life that are explained throughout the film.

Jerrems was constantly driven to cross boundaries and take things to the next level. Her highly confronting works involved an intimate and engaging style of portraiture that often demanded a closeness with her subjects, which she would achieve by sometimes getting into dangerous situations. Drayton’s presentation and use of Jerrems’ work allows the imagery to simply speak for itself.

The film ultimately pays homage to Jerrems and provides some understanding of her life as an artist who used her amazing talent to express herself and what she saw through the lens, which sometimes mirrored her own life.

Note: The documentary has a limited season, exclusive to Cinema Nova in Melbourne, from October 27 and will also be released on DVD on November 1.