I’ve absolutely never felt pressure to dress in a revealing costume. When I asked Furjanic if she had ever felt pressure to wear “sexy” or “pretty” costumes, she responded, “Depends on your definition of pretty/sexy. And my friends are always eager to find out what I’m going to be that year. The best part for me is walking around the city and having people guess what I’m dressed as. Often we’ll all make our costumes together and then go out together. Sometimes friends come over to hang out (or help) while I’m building.
It’s a real scene with foam and tape and glue everywhere. The living room of my apartment is my costume workshop. I outgrew the book at some point and spent a bunch of years making bizarre and/or elaborate costumes (I once dressed as Hanson, the entire boy band).Īt some point I came up with the idea to dress as an idiom or a play on words and things kind of took off from there. People responded really well to them and I just kept going. That gave me an insight into costume construction and I started making costumes from the book. My grandmother had given me a book of creative costumes that you could make yourself. But sometime around middle school something shifted.
I asked the New York-based Furjanic about her “process,” and she explained,įor as long as I can remember I’ve always loved Halloween. And, like her films, they’ve won awards, from the now closed Brooklyn lesbian bar Cattyshack. She also recently signed on as the Consulting Producer for the documentary Reel in the Closet.īut that’s not all! Furjanic’s Halloween costumes are a refreshing alternative to the “sexy ” available at a store near you. Cheryl Furjanic‘s Back on Board: Greg Louganis, a new documentary feature about the gay, HIV+ Olympic champion is getting great buzz and won the audience award at Outfest. Furjanic’s previous feature documentary, Sync or Swim, about swimmers trying to get onto the all women’s synchronized swim team for the Olympics received numerous awards including a Billie Award for Journalism from the Women’s Sports Foundation. While you’re figuring out a feminist costume this week, get inspired by some clever costumes by the feminist filmmaker Cheryl Furjanic, who has won awards for her documentaries and her costumes. There are lots of terrible, offensive Halloween costumes on sale this year, as usual.