Inspiration for GESTURES
That are also just great pieces of film/TV/art that I'd recommend!
These are all fabulous films/shows/plays/books that I’ve been greatly affected and inspired by while writing the dark comedy screenplay for GESTURES. I came at this project knowing I wanted to write about a woman in finance. These pieces all helped me structure the story to what it is today.
In GESTURES, Liza's corporate dreams are thrown into crisis when her boss Cheryl goes missing on the eve of a groundbreaking private equity deal to buy a town. It's a slapstick and surreal tale of a woman violently coming to terms with her belief in the gospel of finance, and the destruction of democracy.
If you’ve seen or check out any of the pieces below, let me know!
MOVIES/TV
For the themes or characters:
Toni Erdmann - film, 2016, directed by Maren Ade
Do Not Expect Too Much from the End of the World - film, 2024, directed by Radu Jude
Margin Call - film, 2011, directed by J. C. Chandor
The Corporation - documentary, 2004, directed by Mark Achbar & Jennifer Abbott
Succession - TV, 2018 - 2023, created by Jesse Armstrong
Enlightened - TV, 2011 - 2013, created by Mike White
For the look, feel or tone:
Songs from the Second Floor, 2000; You, the Living, 2007; A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence, 2014 - films, directed by Roy Andersson
Sorry to Bother You - film, 2018, directed by Boots Riley
The Square - film, 2017, directed by Ruben Östlund
The Other Side of Hope, 2017; Le Havre, 2011 - films, directed by Aki Kaurismäki
For the narrative structure:
L’Avventura - film, 1960, directed by my namesake Michelangelo Antonioni
Search Party - TV season 1, 2016, created by Charles Rogers, Michael Showalter & Sarah-Violet Bliss
Apocalypse Now - film, 1975, directed by Francis Ford Coppola
Paris, Texas - film, 1984, directed by Wim Wenders
TEXTS
Dry Powder - play, 2016, written by Sarah Burgess
Trick Mirror - book, 2019, written by Jia Tolentino
Winners Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World - non-fiction book, 2018, written by Anand Giridharadas
Private Equity - memoir, 2024, written by Carrie Sun
