INTERVIEW: Sundance winner ‘Girls Town’ plays IFC Center in new 4K restoration
Photo: Girls Town, originally released in the late-1990s, has been given a new 4K restoration. Photo courtesy of Film Movement Classics / Provided by Foundry Communications with permission.
Girls Town, the Jim McKay-directed feature from 1996, has only grown in its influence over the last 30 years. The movie, which details the lives of four high school seniors, stars Lili Taylor, Bruklin Harris, Anna Grace, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, Guillermo Diaz and Michael Imperioli, and when it first premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, the coming-of-age story was the talk of the town.
Now Girls Town is back in a new 4K restoration, which includes a special engagement at New York City’s IFC Center in the West Village. McKay will be on hand for a special Q&A at the 6:40 p.m. screening on Tuesday, Jan. 21.
The movie is quite powerful, for a number of reasons. The central story surrounds how these high school friends process and deal with the death of their friend, who takes her own life after being raped. The group of high school seniors is forever changed and must also decide how they will continue on after Nikki’s death.
Another reason to catch the film on the big screen: the soundtrack, which includes tunes from Queen Latifah, PJ Harvey, Roxanne Shante and Salt-N-Pepa, according to press notes.
To look back at his first feature film and consider how the world has changed in the last 30 years, McKay exchanged emails with Hollywood Soapbox. In the years since, he has made his mark as a TV director, working on such projects as American Rust, Black Bird, Law & Order: Organized Crime and Better Call Saul, among other shows.
“I think the film has a different, possibly greater power now because, on one hand, it plays as a period piece with its early-’90s music, the clothing, etc., but on the other hand, one watches it and says, ‘Wow, so many of these things haven’t changed,'” McKay wrote in an email interview. “We’re still dealing with the same issues when it comes to violence against girls and women, obstruction of access to birth control, and the silencing of people who speak up.”
The filmmaker made reference to President Donald Trump being found liable for sexual abuse and the hyper-masculinity that is currently peaking in society. “I think the message of solidarity in the film might be even more urgent than when the film originally came out,” he wrote. “Hopefully its power to inspire has grown, as well.”
When Girls Town was first released, it was VHS-only. This was a pre-digital, pre-streaming era, as McKay pointed out. That meant that after the initial theatrical run, and after the VCR went the way of the iPod, viewers struggled to find the movie.
“So after its 25-year distribution license expired in 2021 — a date that had been in my calendar for years! — I got the rights to the film back,” the director stated. “It was one of many films that have ‘disappeared,’ and there is a growing movement of filmmakers, especially of my generation, who are making efforts to get their films back, restore them and get them out into the world again.”
When McKay first sat down to write Girls Town, he started with an outline and character descriptions, but then he realized he wanted (needed) female partners throughout the creative process.
“We first did a ‘story’ session with a group of adult women in which we discussed general thoughts and ideas, parameters, etc.,” he stated. “And then we cast actors to take part in improvisation workshops, and from those, the script was written. It was a fun and challenging process, and we were lucky to have a such a strong group of actors who could not only act, but also improvise and also do both while employing a ‘writer’s brain.’ Once the workshops were over, the material was transcribed, and the script was written (and re-written) based on the workshop material. And once we were shooting, there was virtually no improvisation on the shoot, as the script already had that hyper-realist vibe that good improvisation can have.”
Credited as writers are McKay, Denise Casano, Grace, Harris and Taylor. The direction fell on McKay, who put the various pieces together to create Girls Town. He stated that there’s a bit of a score in the film, composed by Guru, but the majority of the music consists of songs being played in the narrative, emanating from a boombox or a passing car.
“That’s where a world was created and where the music of the time was omnipresent,” he wrote in the email interview. “We chose to feature exclusively female artists (and majority hip hop) in a way that belies the hyper-realist nature of the film itself. … The centerpiece song, ‘U.N.I.T.Y.,’ by Queen Latifah, couldn’t be a more perfect song to represent the message, story and vibe of the film.”
Once the film was complete, it was on to Sundance, which McKay described as a surreal experience. He was overwhelmed by the competition for awards (Girls Town won a couple), the need to sell the feature to buyers and the many other wonderful films on display.
“If you can keep your head in the ‘community’ part of it rather than the business side of it, it’s a life-changing experience where you meet and interact with filmmakers who will become friends and co-workers for the rest of your life,” McKay wrote. “It was 30 years ago when we made the film, so I’ve forgotten everything I learned! Honestly, I think I learned that money, shoot days or movie stars don’t equal a good movie. When you have passion, collaboration, hard work and community, those things show up on screen.”
By John Soltes / Publisher / John@HollywoodSoapbox.com
Girls Town, directed by Jim McKay, is currently playing at New York City’s IFC Center. Click here for more information and tickets.
