Director: Caroline Johnson

Film: Counter-Reformation

Bio: The self-portrait. The sacred icon. The Incarnation. 16th Century Europe is at war with itself over questions of faith and form. Counter-Reformation observes these trends and tribulations, through the lens of the Renaissance painter, Sofonisba Anguissola, the first female court painter in Europe. But observation soon gives way to self-reflection in this deeply personal 16mm meditation on religion and the moving image.

(Submitted as the filmmaker’s Master Thesis in completion of the MFA program at the California Institute of the Arts)

Caroline Johnson is a filmmaker and writer based in Los Angeles. Her work straddles genres and mediums, from narrative to experimental, dance and essay film to documentary and commercial thrillers.

She is in her final year at CalArts where she is pursuing an MFA in Film/Video, and her thesis film “Counterreformation” received a department grant from the School of Film and Video. She works largely on 16mm, shooting much of her own footage on her Bolex camera and other analog instruments like the Oxberry animation stand and the optical printer.

She is interested in the line between performance and reality, modern ethnographic cinematic techniques, and the relationship between spirituality, belief systems, and the artistic process.