Fronza Woods


Fronza Woods is an American filmmaker best known for her short films, including Killing Time and Fannie's Film.

Biography

Woods was born in Detroit and now lives in Southern France.
Woods directed, wrote, and produced independent films, most notably Killing Time and Fannie's Film. Before making her own films, Woods worked on shorts at the Women's Interart Center in Hell's Kitchen. She also worked as a guest filmmaker in the Lincoln Center Film Society's "Artist in the Schools program."
In addition to making her own films, Woods was an assistant sound engineer for John Sayles's film The Brother From Another Planet. She was also involved as a cast member in the 1985 film, The Man Who Envied Women. Of her role in the film industry, Woods said "I think the male-female divisions are more defining". Woods said that she was influenced by people as diverse as Bill Moyers, Malcolm X, Georgia O'Keefe and others.

Legacy and cultural impact

Woods is one of the first black woman directors that completed multiple short films. Richard Brody called Killing Time "very simply, one of the best short films that I’ve ever seen." Melissa Anderson of the Village Voice praised Woods's film Fannie's Film: "she makes the mundane facts of Drayton’s life indelible." Hyperallergic writes that Woods gives otherwise invisible women like Drayton a platform and calls the documentary "extraordinary." The New York Times wrote that Woods "humorously yet movingly contemplates existence" in Killing Time.

Short films

Killing Time (1979)

Killing Time is a 1979 narrative short film written and directed by Fronza Woods. The film follows a woman as she prepares to commit suicide. The duration of the film is 9 minutes.

Fannie's Film (1982)

Fannie's Film is a 1982 documentary that follows 65-year old Fannie Drayton, a cleaning woman. The film is told from the perspective of Drayton and is 15 minutes in duration. Fannie's Film was selected for the 1985 Créteil International Women's Film Festival.

Citations