In July I started working on what I thought would be a quick post about what I’ve learned from the past five years of seeking out and watching films made by women. It got a bit rangy, so I tried to contain it by organizing my ideas into notes. I thought it would be easier to write (and read) if there were a lot of headings and shorter summaries. But then it got even longer! My “quick post” is now a wild and woolly document that has stretched well beyond the confines of a single newsletter. So I think now it will be a two- or possibly three-part post which I will publish sometimes in the next few months. Anyway, it’s in the works.
The other thing I wanted to tell you is that I have paused paid subscriptions. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that I am not sure I going to continue this newsletter in this particular format in 2024. Working on a longer, more reflective post has been really gratifying and I realized that I’ve felt a bit constrained by the current format of “4-5 short film reviews.” I have the urge to shake things up, and maybe even pivot to other subjects. It’s possible that I’ve come to the end of the road on this topic and need to take a break from film reviewing.
It may be soon to say, but I think relocating to Maine has changed my relationship to movies. Living in New York City, and even in Montclair, NJ—which has a great film festival every fall—I felt a lot of the energy and excitement around filmmaking and I fed off that energy. Here in the country, I am spending a lot more time biking and walking in the woods. I’m reading more. Ironically, we have an amazing home theater that my husband, a devoted cinephile, set up in the basement. My kids are watching more movies than ever. But I haven’t been as drawn to our new TV. I’m obviously not going to into NYC for screenings, either. It’s been harder to keep up with current films.
The second big reason I am turning off paid subscriptions is that the Substack universe is changing and I’m not sure where I fit in. When I first moved to this platform from Wordpress, I chose it because I felt it would be easier for people to follow my writing if it landed directly in their inboxes. And for a while I think that was true. Now, Substack has become more app-based, and doesn’t really feel like a newsletter service anymore, it’s more like a galaxy of blogs/social network. There are pros and cons to the app. One thing I really like about the app is that it allows you to send all your subscriptions to your app mailbox, instead of your email. So you can subscribe to dozens of newsletters without cluttering your inbox. I also like how the app introduces me to other Substacks. At the same time, I don’t understand why certain newsletters are showing up in my feed over and over again, even when I don’t show any interest in subscribing. The notes are also a little mysterious to me. I “claimed” my handle but I’m not sure what to do with it. I’m starting to get that anxious, untethered feeling that I always have on social media.
And yet I do like having a newsletter to write about movies and whatever else is on my mind. The freedom of self-publishing is wonderful, a welcome antidote to the turtle pace of traditional publishing. I appreciate the audience I’ve found here and the ease of the publishing tools available. I’m not leaving this platform anytime soon, and will continue with recommendations and mini-reviews until the end of the year, but after that, who knows? I may write more posts, or I may take a few months off. I’m just not sure, and I feel weird offering annual subscriptions when I can’t envision what this space will look like a year from now.
So, to recap: this newsletter will continue, pretty much as is, for the next few months, but paid subscriptions are now paused. This means if you have an annual subscription, it will be extended if/when I return to paid subscriptions. Thank you to everyone who has subscribed and shared this newsletter. To my paid subscribers, thank you so much for your support. It has kept me going for the past year.
-Hannah
Yes, I did read your post and really appreciated it. It made me feel like I wasn't alone in feeling something shifting in the Substack universe.
Thank you for this update Hannah, and the transparency. I am glad to read you are continuing on, but rethinking your content, which is sometimes necessary. Yes, the Substack universe is changing, and as I think you know, I wrote about this recently. I am not sure where it's headed either, but I am glad I got to experience the "old" Substack even though I've only been on it a year. The "coziness" was nice while it lasted.