Sarah Jacobson Still Kicks Ass

A week ago today, Sarah Jacobson died. I heard about her passing Sunday, and the ripples of her influence keep bouncing around the indie film community. In typical Sarah fashion, the influence she had on all of us and our definition of independence continues to be her most lasting contribution (although "I Was A Teenage Serial Killer" and "Mary Jane's Not a Virgin Anymore" are wonderful inspirational legacy of their own.)

I first met Sarah in 1996 at what was then the "Independent Feature Film Market" in NYC when she was finishing up "Mary Jane." I was just starting to experience the independent film community then, and I was at IFFM with a FILMMAKER Magazine badge. That year, they messed up, and my badge was the same color as the ones that they handed out to film buyers, and Sarah was one of the people that I was laughing about that with (the horror of walking into that event and not realizing that the tag around my neck screamed "THIS PERSON MIGHT BUY YOUR FILM! ASSAULT THEM NOW!")

I got to know Sarah just well enough for her to be one of the few familiar faces I knew when I went to Sundance in 1997: there she was, with her Mom, promoting "Mary Jane" with her typically brilliant D.I.Y. knack. She had Kinkoed "NOT A VIRGIN" onto labels, hand highlighted them with her mother, and would stick them on the back of people's festival badges. I happily accepted a "Not A Virgin" sticker for my badge, and it was amazing how people asked me where I got it -- she turned me into an evangelist of her and her film with a sticker.

Sarah's view that independent filmmaking was like punk rock was something that deeply shaped my views on the indie scene at my most influencial time: I "got" Sarah, the wicked innocent subversion, the sheer passion of "who's going to stop you?" Sarah was one of those people who's infectious enthusiasm and caring were paired with a real vision of filmmaking (heck, all expression) as empowerment.

A lot of people in the independent community have been deeply moved by her passing. It's creating a nostalga for the D.I.Y. movement of the mid-1990s, before independent filmmaking because perceived as quite so important and proper a thing to do. When filmmaking could be punk. Maybe that nostalga will give way to a recommitment, and an embracing of those ideals again among more filmmakers. Note to self: in memory of Sarah, make sure to emphasize subtle snear/wink combo when I use the phrase "Indiewood".

posted to Independence on February 20, 2004