Showing Up: an artist’s America, as seen by Kelly Reichardt

A figurehead of the American indie film scene since River of Grass (1994), a dark road trip movie that was shot on a low budget with no permissions for filming, Kelly Reichardt's filmography is a deeply humanistic collection underpinned by a minimalistic style and a focus on nature and specific regions. The director likes to root her narratives in America's political, socio-economic and cultural context, and paints her characters in a critical, sensitive, and lenient light.

In her ninth feature Showing Up, Kelly Reichardt delves into the everyday life of Lizzie, a sculptor with a chaotic personal life, who is preparing for the opening of a show meant to catapult her career to new heights. By dissecting the little day-to-day battles the artist is forced to face in today's world, the film sketches out a funny and acerbic snapshot of the art world.

Michelle Williams stars in the leading role of this graceful film shot from a woman's perspective, taking to the screen alongside John Magaro, the leading man in the sublime First Cow (2019). This is Williams' fourth collaboration with Kelly Reichardt, following on from Wendy and Lucy (2008), Meek's Cutoff (2010) and Certain Women (2016).

The screenplay was co-written with writer Jonathan Raymond in his sixth collaboration with the director. As on Meek's Cutoff, the director of photography for the film was Christopher Blauvelt.

To lay the visual groundwork for Showing Up, Kelly Reichardt spent time in two female sculptors' studios, all the better to translate their movements to the screen. The film was shot over the summer of 2021 in Portland, Oregon, a region of the United States where the filmmaker is well used to setting the action for her feature films.