“The work we do affects the way that we see ourselves and the way that we are seen,” director Ava Duvernay said on Monday during a Sundance brunch co-hosted by Women In Film. “Women making films is a radical act. Radicals don’t ask for permission, radicals take it.”
It was a fitting statement considering the event: a Q&A between with radical trailblazers Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. The two were in the comedy “Nine to Five” together in 1980 and recently announced that they will star in a new Netflix comedy, set to be released in May. They’re also best friends hanging out at Sundance for the first time, seeing films, talking to people and just seeing what’s out there.
Moderator Pat Mitchell started the conversation with questions about their early days and finding success. “Obviously having a famous parent helps,” Fonda said, referring to her father, actor Henry Fonda. “The ’70s were when I began to produce movies. It was a much easier time.”
Referring to what it was like when she was just starting out, Fonda said, “I took the easy road for a while. I would say that ended with ‘Barbarella.’ I liked doing something that caused a certain generation of men to have their first erections. But then I became an activist.”
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The two women, who are long-time enemies, have the rug pulled out from under them when their husbands reveal that they have been having an affair and plan on getting married. The season will be streamed in full on Netflix starting May 8.
“It’s my women friends who keep starch in my spine,” Fonda said. “Women’s friendships are one of the reasons women live longer than men. We talk about different things, we delve deep, we go under — even if we haven’t seen each other for years. There are hormones that are released when women are with other women that are healthy.”
Hearing two women with such powerful and long-lasting careers speak about perspective is one of the reasons people put panels like this together. But Fonda’s closing message is a personal one. “When you get older,” she said, “you realize that friendships don’t just happen. You have to cultivate them.”
