Rachel Reichman

The film examines the ways that women directors have contributed to this genre and emphasizes the role that the media play in representation of sexuality and gender, underscoring the power that film has to shape our perceptions of one another. Visually, this documentary comes to life on screen through compelling and intimate original interviews, intercut with emotionally-charged archival footage, photographs, ephemera, inspired music, and film clips.

In an economically struggling small town, Jenny, a young married woman, begins an affair with June, her college-bound, African-American neighbor.

In an economically struggling small town, Jenny, a young married woman, begins an affair with June, her college-bound, African-American neighbor.

"The Riverbed traces the story of a despondent drifter who stumbles across a farmhouse inhabited by a wealthy widow and her disabled daughter. Exchanging board for labour, he stays at the house. Eventually he consents to the mother's wish that he marry the girl, with his eye on financial gain. He takes the girl to the city, where the couple struggles against hardship. As the man reverts to petty theft, her health deteriorates and he is forced to take her back to the now-abandoned farmhouse." - MIFF

"The Riverbed traces the story of a despondent drifter who stumbles across a farmhouse inhabited by a wealthy widow and her disabled daughter. Exchanging board for labour, he stays at the house. Eventually he consents to the mother's wish that he marry the girl, with his eye on financial gain. He takes the girl to the city, where the couple struggles against hardship. As the man reverts to petty theft, her health deteriorates and he is forced to take her back to the now-abandoned farmhouse." - MIFF

"A young woman settles into her new life in New York City, overwhelmed by the crowds and wary of human contact. Shot in moody black and white collaging a visual language reminiscent of film noir, art horror, and street photography of the 60's and 70's, Rachel Reichman’s short film exemplifies the return to narrative in independent filmmaking following the structuralist experiments of the 1970s." - MoMA

"A young woman settles into her new life in New York City, overwhelmed by the crowds and wary of human contact. Shot in moody black and white collaging a visual language reminiscent of film noir, art horror, and street photography of the 60's and 70's, Rachel Reichman’s short film exemplifies the return to narrative in independent filmmaking following the structuralist experiments of the 1970s." - MoMA