Episode 8: Behind the lens of "The Loop of Pain" — with Jennifer Proctor

Filmmaker and professor Jennifer Proctor is the director of “The Loop of Pain,” which will be featured at the Bicycle Film Festival on Saturday, March 1, at 7pm at the Michigan Theater.

Born in the birthplace of mountain biking, Jennifer believes cycling and film nerdery grabbed hold of her psyche at around the same time in her early life. Reels and wheels are “historical cousins,” and she sees cycling as both a metaphor for her creative process and the best way to clear her head when she needs to approach that process with a re-booted perspective.

Film is also an useful medium in advocating for change, because one of the best ways to encourage new behavior is to normalize its visuals. She often brings these sensibilites to her classroom at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she often collaborates with students in her journalism and screen studies classes.

As she has adjusted to Michigan winters, Jennifer says that exploring Washtenaw County on two wheels has been the best way to make feel like home. We also talk about the life of a CaliTexaGander, the soothing power of chirping frogs, and why we all need to be more predictiable toward each other.

Other links:

• Bicycliste, by the Lumière Brothers

• Non-linear filmmaking in Memento and 21 Grams

• Watch Nothing A Little Soap and Water Can’t Fix

• Journalist and novelist Carl Hiaasen

• All about Bubbles for Bike Lanes, with Hannah Stanton-Gockel