The girl next door in the big city. Susan Seidelman retrospective at AFF
Cinema entered her life by accident, but once she stumbled upon it, she decided to try her hand at directing. And since no one told her that women in the industry were an anomaly, she graduated from film school, won awards for her shorts, and with her debut Smithereens became the first American indie filmmaker to compete for the Palme d’Or at Cannes. This year’s American Film Festival honors Susan Seidelman with a retrospective dedicated to one of the few American women who, throughout the 1980s and 1990s, consistently created cinema at the crossroads of indie and mainstream. Seidelman herself will visit Wrocław during the 16th American Film Festival (November 6–11).
Raised in the Philadelphia suburbs, Seidelman hit the ground running with the self-financed Smithereens, a punk portrait of restless Wren—a character much like the director herself, roaming through the gritty New York of the early 1980s in search of identity. Seidelman's flawless intuition—thanks to which she always finds the perfect actors, locations, and music—soon led her to Desperately Seeking Susan, a now-cult film whose cast would go on to major stardom: Rosanna Arquette, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Laurie Metcalf, and, of course, Madonna.
Seidelman successfully continued her career throughout the 1990s and 2000s, telling stories of women breaking free from the routines of suburban life and small-town conventions. Stylish and playful, her films brim with cinematic references (particularly to the French New Wave) and always carry a streak of transgression.
The retrospective program includes:
- Smithereens (1982)
- Desperately Seeking Susan (1985)
- Making Mr. Right (1987)
- She-Devil (1989)
- Confessions of a Suburban Girl (1992)
- The Dutch Master (1993)
- Sex and the City (1998-2004; selected episodes)
The American Film Festival will also host a masterclass with Seidelman, where she will share her experiences as a woman director working in the 1980s and 1990s—an era still dominated by New Hollywood’s male auteurs.
“She was one of many such women we remember only occasionally today. Even as second-wave feminism seemed to open doors in male-dominated professions, cinema remained resistant to change. In the 1980s, alongside Seidelman, Martha Coolidge, Penny Marshall, Lizzie Borden, and Kathryn Bigelow all began their careers. Yet most—despite making hits (…)—stayed in the shadows of more celebrated colleagues (…). With this Seidelman retrospective, we want to spotlight one of those directors who had the courage to elbow their way in, wedge a foot in a closed door, and shatter glass ceilings.”—writes Patrycja Mucha, curator of the retrospective.
The retrospective is presented in partnership with the National Film Archive – Audiovisual Institute (FINA).
The 16th American Film Festival takes place November 6–11, 2025, at the New Horizons Cinema in Wrocław. Pass vouchers are already available for purchase. Regular passes and accreditations go on sale September 9.
