Imitating Life — The Audacity of Suzanne Heintz (2020)

Synopsis

Imitating Life — The Audacity of Suzanne Heintz is about a ‘loud-mouthed’ girl from Yonkers, who embarks on a strange and entertaining global photographic crusade to challenge persisting stereotypes about women’s roles and lives. Creating husband and child mannequins, meticulously dressed and posed to depict archetypes of mid 20th century ideals of family life — Heintz’s photo shoots engage and disturb the viewer. Heintz places herself at the center of intricately crafted scenes as the perfect wife and mother of the mannequin family, provoking re-examination of our most fundamental assumptions. When she began her work the Internet barely existed, and Heintz did not see herself as an artist. Almost two decades later, Heintz’s work has a global viral following and her photography series has led to solo exhibits in Denver and New York, as well as group exhibits in Europe and Australia. Weaving candid and humorous behind-the-scenes footage with video diaries and archival material, our film follows the process and struggle Heintz faces in pursuit of her life’s work.

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