A Handy Tip for the Easily Distracted, 2011
Miranda July dreams up an idiosyncratic solution to the interruptions of modern life in "A Handy Tip for the Easily Distracted." An offcut from July's film, The Future, the scene has been reconstituted by the actress, writer and filmmaker for NOWNESS, complete with a score by David Byrne collaborator Steven Reker.
This scene was meant to make it clear that Sophie was struggling against distraction, after losing time on YouTube—we all know how alluring these distractions are, and here we are seeing her attempting to take charge. I had her rig up a grape juice booby trap. In the next scene, which is actually in the movie, you see her run past the table and her white dress is covered in grape juice, which seemed like a funny visual way of showing that she had sacrificed the dress for the internet. Except that nobody got the whole grape juice trap. I don't think a single person understood why she was doing any of it. It just seemed like a bizarre performance in the middle of the movie.
The Future (film), 2011
When Sophie (Miranda July) and Jason (Hamish Linklater) decide to adopt a stray cat, their perspective on life changes radically, literally altering the course of time and space and testing their faith in each other and themselves.
Somebody (APP), 2014
“Test my soil. Deeper.” Have you ever found it impossible to say something, face to face, to someone you know, someone you love? The words just won’t come out? A new messaging service, SOMEBODY, by Miranda July could help. It’s the star of her film for Miu Miu Womens’ Tales, the eighth commission in the acclaimed short-film series by women directors who critically celebrate femininity in the 21st century.
New Society, 2015
In July’s fourth full-length performance, she invited the audience to transform the theater into an intentional community—to stay with her in the theater for the rest of their lives to form an independent state. She elected herself as the leader and invited audience members to participate in its establishment. One spectator composed a national anthem while another designed a flag and a few more drafted a constitution. Twenty years would pass in the course of these approximately two-hour, high-wire performances—unique experiments in collaboration, intertwining the histories and talents of the audience with a startling chronicle of time, love, and group faith.