Ground Breaker - Lilah Vandenburgh

Lilah Vandenburgh grew up in Long Beach, CA and attended high school in Dallas, TX. She was a vocalist in several bands, and a founder and artistic director of Mr. Toad's Theatre Circle. She has a BS in Film and Television from Boston University and an MFA in Film Directing from Columbia University. In addition to directing, Vandenburgh works as a film editor. BITCH is her thesis film, from Columbia University.

Ground Breaker Film - BITCH

BITCH is a pop-culture vigilante, who administers “beat-downs” to many deserving folk. Be it your pretentious taste in music, your fugly clothes, your insipid pseudo-intellectual rantings, or your poseur attitude, she will find you and she will make you pay.

Love is for losers, and PDA couples make BITCH want to puke razor blades. But when she meets a guy as antisocial as she is, it’s love at first sneer. Can they regulate the poseurs of the world together? Only if she can win him, but she may have to kick his ass first.

It’s a classic love story, rendered in a style so cynical, so blithely ultra-violent, and joyously scabrous as to be almost unrecognizable. This blackly comic satire draws inspiration from early cinema, mod and new wave filmmaking, punk music, newspaper collage, comic books and animation. Set to an original punk rock soundtrack and shot in 35mm black and white, the film is at once lo-fi and self-consciously slick. Check. It. Out.  www.bitchthemovie.com

Ground Breaker Questionnaire

Why did you submit your film to HATCH?

Because HATCH is a music and cultural festival, I thought the musical element and alternative culture element of the film would appeal to the programmers. I had a hunch it was a good fit. I have heard that HATCH is a bit "edgy."

If you are aware of our mentorship program, how do you feel about it?

I don't know about any mentor program, but mentor away! I always like some mentorship.

What was your inspiration in making the film?

I'm part of a group of people, a generation of would be conosoirres and critics. We're obsessed with the minutia of pop-culture, just to show how smart we are. So sometimes we deserve a good smack in the mouth. That's what BITCH is there for. She gives that smack.

Who is your mentor?

I have a few. Filmmakers Eric Mendlesohn and Tom Kalin have been an enormous source of guidance over the past few years. My ballet teacher Cindy Vallone who beats discipline into me. And film producer Jennifer Dresser, who gives the most constructive script notes in history.

Why did you choose to pursue film?

FILM CHOSE ME!!! Seriously, film is very rough in many ways. You can only go into it if 1. you love it 2. you can't do anything else well 3. You'll die if you don't get your thoughts out to an audience.