No matter where she goes, she will always be from here.
Karen Dee Carpenter wrote, directed, shot, and edited, “My Scarlet Letter.” Shot in Carpenter’s hometown of New Bloomfield, Pennsylvania, the film follows Emily and her three friends trying to escape from their small town on a Friday night. When Rachel’s brother takes off with the family car, the girls, outsiders in their closed-minded high school, realize that they are stranded once again. The idyllic landscape that surrounds them doesn’t compensate for the frustration, oppression, and longing that they feel. A backwoods boy and his car finally provide a way out, but as the night wears on Emily realizes that no matter where she goes, she will always be from here.
Professor Paul Swann, Chairman of Temple’s Film and Media Arts Department comments, “Karen Carpenter’s background as a painter is evident in her beautiful cinematography. She is also a wonderful storyteller. Several of her films focus sensitively on the inner lives of adolescent girls, revealing their quest for self-expression and a meaningful life. This is a rich theme, and it is exciting to contemplate what Karen will achieve in her career as a filmmaker.”
Director's Statement
My Scarlet Letter began as a simple idea about small town, rural America seen through the eyes of its rebellious teenage subjects. I drew upon my experience of growing up in an insular farming community where my only contact with the greater world came through the two television stations that we could pick up without too much static. The story became more complex as I came to realize that memories of that time were bittersweet and that no matter how much I had put those experiences behind me I couldn't quite smother them in my adult city life. Through the process of creating the film I came to understand how much I had loved the beautiful landscape and the nature that surrounded me and how much I had feared and rebelled against the condemning gaze of its conservative citizens. This place that I had run from was actually a part of me, had marked me and informed who I had become.Karen Dee Carpenter
About the Filmmaker |