MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH MARRIAGE

Sceneggiatura / Screenplay: Signe Baumane. Fotografia / Photography: Signe Baumane. Montaggio / Editing: Signe Baumane, Sturgis Warner. Musica / Music: Kristian Sensini. Suono / Sound: Pierre Vedovato. Scenografia / Art Director: Sturgis Warner, Signe Baumane. Animazione / Animation: Signe Baumane. Voci / Voices: Dagmara Dominczyk, Michele Pawk, Trio Limonāde (Ieva Katkovska, Kristine Pastare, Iluta Alsberga), Cameron Monaghan, Matthew Modine. Produzione / Produced by: Studio Locomotive, The Marriage Project Llc, Antevita Films. Con il sostegno di / Supported by: National Film Centre of Latvia, Film Fund Luxembourg, Culture Capital Foundation of Latvia, Bb Posthouse, Creative Europe Media, The New York City Women’s Fund for Media, Music & Theater, New York State Governor’s Office of Motion Picture & Television Development Office’s Post Production’s Credit Program, New York State Council on The Arts, John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, H.O. Peet Foundation, The Ravenal Foundation of New York Women In Film & Television, Kickstarter and 1,685 Individual Backers. Distribuzione internazionale / World Sales: New Europe Film Sales.

ITALIAN PREMIERE

From an early age, songs and fairytales convinced Zelma that Love would solve all her problems as long as she abided by societal expectations of how a girl should act. But as she grew older something didn’t seem right with the concept of love: the more she tried to conform, the more her body resisted. A story about the acceptance of the inner female rebellion. The film premiered at the 2022 Tribeca Film Festival. It won the Jury Distinction at the Annecy International Animation FF.
My Love Affair With Marriage fuses animation with music, theatre, science, photography, three-dimensional sets and traditional hand-drawn animation to tell the story of a spirited young woman’s quest for perfect Love and lasting Marriage.

“… My goal was to provoke and delight a thinking audience with a movie they have never seen before. Not only to tell a tale full of humor, surprising twists and unexpected worlds, but to leave them with the salient fact that biology is the root of our existence. What fascinates me about humans is how eagerly we want to dismiss science when it threatens to expose the fairy tales that we tell ourselves. We are all biological creatures, yet we hold on to ideas about ourselves that are not rooted in this reality. Especially in matters of love, we are willfully ignorant. Another fascinating thing for me is our human need for purpose and meaning, and how eager we are to define a woman’s purpose as being a wife and mother. My Love Affair with Marriage challenges us to step outside that definition. Zelma’s search for love is a search for a higher purpose and only when she breaks with societal expectations, can she truly start finding it. If I would have to put my intention behind this film in just a few words, I can’t help but think of James Baldwin when he wrote: ‘Nothing can be changed until it is faced’.” S. Baumane

Signe Baumane
Signe Baumane is a Latvian-born, Brooklyn-based independent filmmaker, artist, writer, and animator. She has a degree in Philosophy from Moscow State University. Her first animated feature Rocks in My Pockets won the SkyArte award at the Trieste FF in 2015.

filmografia scelta / selected filmography
1991 The Witch and the Cow cm animazione /sf animation 1995 The Gold of the Tigers cm animazione /sf animation 1998 Love Story cm animazione /sf animation 2002 Five Fucking Fables cm animazione /sf animation; Woman cm animazione /sf animation 2005 Dentist cm / sf 2007 Teat Beat of Sex cm animazione /sf animation 2009 Birth cm animazione /sf animation 2014 Rocks In My Pockets animazione / animation; Premi / Awards: Karlovy Vary IFF – Premio FIPRESCI / FIPRESCI Award; Trieste FF – Premio Sky Arte / Sky Arte Award 2022 My Love Affair With Marriage animazione / animation; Premi / Awards: Annecy FF – Menzione della giuria / Jury Distinction