Positive representations of women over the age of 50 within film, television, and almost all media outlets are few and far between… And it downright sickens me. It’s a rare occurrence that women over this age are ever shown as active creative agents, which is one of the main reasons why A Portrait of the Artist as an Old(er) Woman has such a powerful hold on me, and why I’m so glad that Women’s Independent Cinema has decided to feature this documentary on the July 2008 mailing. A Portrait focuses on the individual and affecting journeys of three octogenarian artists (Hanna Eshel, Margaret K. Johnson, and Hava Mehutan) who specialize in the detailed and time-consuming medium of three-dimensional art. Each artist’s story articulately details their individual global journeys and personal and familial situations that have either hindered their ingenuity or bolstered it. And the fact that the filmmaker, Tova Beck-Friedman, is an artist herself adds to the authenticity and strengthens the entire structure of each woman’s story.

Unlike many documentaries, A Portrait of the Artist as an Old(er) Woman displays each of these women’s stories in not just an informative manner but in a highly personal one as well. Each artist speaks about the intimate moments that have defined her as an artist. Hava describes the pivotal instant when, as a four-year-old, she saw a piece of iridescent glass that inspired her curiosity for color and shape, and sent her on a trajectory towards dabbling with art. And Margaret engages the audience by describing the specific ways that space and environment in her travels to the polar region revitalized her viewpoint on her artwork. And her child-like enthusiasm for discovering new artistic mediums is infectious; watching her made me feel like I was a part of a special, and almost private moment. Every detail and insight into these women’s artistic realms is a treat to view. These small and afflated moments were a breath of fresh air on my television screen.

Besides age and energy, each of the women artists also share together their unique experiences of juggling motherhood, and other roles that society restricted them to in the 1940’s and 1950’s, with their artistic lives. For example, Margaret “very much didn’t want to be married” when she was younger, because “marriage meant that whatever you were doing you stopped”. She did not want to adhere to the gendered social prescriptions that would limit her time spent as an artist, and it was only until her potential husband convinced her that children could wait and that nothing would change the amount of time that she could spend developing her creativity did she agree to be married. To hear each of these woman speak openly and defiantly about the social restrictions placed on them and their passions left me motivated to continue working towards breaking current gendered social restrictions that keep me down in my own local and personal world. Being entertained, informed, and stimulated by just one film? I savor the rare occurrence when a film has the ability to stir these strong feelings within me. I can only assume that Margaret, Hava and Hanna’s stories will have the same effect on an even wider audience.

A Portrait of the Artist as an Old(er) Woman is a wonderful documentary, and some of the best 30 minutes I’ve spent in a while. Who knows, it may even inspire you to pick up a paintbrush, or a slab of clay, or even a post-it pad and a number two pencil the next time you find some down time.