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Shown
at thirty major museums in the United States and Europe. Currently
showing at the MET
Throwing Curves - Eva Zeisel explores the life and art
of a brave & willful woman who conquered the 20th century with
curvilinear style to become one of the most famous industrial designers
of the modern era. Working primarily in porcelain and ceramic table-ware,
Eva Zeisel's pioneering work introduced her trademark sensuous curves
to mass-production. With over
Throwing Curves - Eva Zeisel explores Eva Zeisel's 95-year
life-journey, from her birth in Hungary in 1906 through her career
working in all the hotspots of design, including Berlin in the 20s,
the Soviet Union in the 30s, and New York in the 50s. The film interweaves
her design work with her dramatic life-history, which includes Throwing Curves - Eva Zeisel is the first of a documentary film series that explores the lives of three 85-plus women still actively engaged in creative lives. WATCH
THE TRAILER
Awards:
Directors Guild Nominee, Best Doc Hamptons Film Festival, Grand
Jury Prize San Fransico Film Festival Through interviews and recollections, photographs and home movies, songs and archival footage, this engaging documentary paints a portrait of dynamic family relationships set against the backdrop of changing American attitudes toward parenting styles, the role of women in society, race and class. Although both well-to-do families lived in New York during the post-war baby boom years and adhered to the common practice among the affluent of hiring help, each chose a very different woman for the job. Martha, a German immigrant trained as a baby nurse, stressed cleanliness and discipline. Ethel, on the other hand, was a natural who lavished affection and listened carefully to the needs of the brood she raised. The film is beautifully structured, using headings to introduce us alternately to each nanny and her respective family. The contrasts provide a non-judgmental framework, allowing us to make up our own minds about the childrearing choices made and the impact they had on individual lives. Touching, intelligent and well-crafted, 'Martha and Ethel' allows us temporarily to become part of these two families -- and in doing so, to reflect upon our own experiences and beliefs.
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You
may not know Eva Zeisel yet, but you know her work. 
60-plus
years in the field Ms. Zeisel is one of the best-selling tableware
designers of all time and her highly-collectable designs have literally
changed the face of modern design in the 20th century.
being imprisoned in a Soviet prison, escaping the Nazis and setting
up a new life as an immigrant in post-war New York City. Finally,
in a testimony to one of America's earliest "super moms",
the film explores the tension between modern motherhood and a career
in the arts. Throwing Curves - Eva Zeisel is a lesson
in longevity and perseverance. At age 95, Eva Zeisel is still creating,
and the film finishes with a look at her latest work in the new
millennia.
In
affectionately telling the personal stories of their nannies, filmmakers
Jyll Johnstone and Barbara Ettinger have gone right to the heart
of exploring the true meaning of family. As Ethel, the nanny from
a black sharecropper family in South Carolina who cared for the
six Ettinger children, states so movingly, You don't have to birth
a child to love it. Another perspective is provided by one of Martha's
five Johnstone wards who asks in a confused voice, Should I love
my own mother more? 