Professor Directs New Film

By Alec Matuszak
Assistant News Editor

Lisa Robinson, a  film professor in the department of communications and film, has directed a new film “Claire in Motion,” starring Betsey Brandt, who is best known for playing Marie in the television series “Breaking Bad.” Co-directed by Annie Howell, the movie is a tale of a husband and wife who decide to embark on a hiking trip that quickly goes awry, when the husband goes missing. Not only is the husband missing, but Claire, the main character, realizes she is missing crucial bits and pieces about their relationship.

Robinson said that she did not have an “agenda” for this film, but she hopes it allows viewers to understand the uncertainty of life, and how difficult it may be to find the real truth. Initial impressions of someone or something may not be exactly what they were perceived to be, in the end. “We wanted to tell a story about a woman who was at a time of her life when she felt like she knew who she was, who her husband was and then this event happens to upend and destroy some of what she knew and even her sense of herself,” said Robinson of the protagonist.

This is Robinson’s third film as both a writer and a director. She directed and wrote the 2011 feature-length film “Small, Beautifully Moving Parts” as well as a short film, “Breaker,” in 2002.

Co-director Annie Howell understands that a movie about a missing spouse isn’t anything new, but “Claire in Motion” changes that a bit. “We knew there are narrative expectations that come with the missing person story, and it was exciting and challenging to subvert those,” Howell said.

Relationships are a recurring theme in Robinson’s films. “Small, Beautifully Moving Parts” featured an anxious pregnant woman and “Breaker” featured a curious teen’s quest to know more about her father.

Robinson received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley, and an M.F.A. from New York University’s Graduate Film Directing Program. She is the recipient of the Martin E. Segal Prize, the Mitsubishi Digital Media Lab Award for Excellence, and a New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship.

“Claire in Motion” was shot in Athens, Ohio and premiered at South by Southwest, a music and film festival, in March 2016. It was the opening film at the Voice of A Woman film festival in lower Manhattan on Nov. 5. The film opens in theaters on Jan. 13, 2017.