KELLY REICHARDT

My films are about people who don’t have a safety net. - Kelly Reichardt

Kelly Reichardt is one of America’s leading, and most distinctive, independent directors. A cinematic cartographer, her filmic mapping of suburban Florida (River of Grass), the lush forests and rocky plains of Oregon (Old Joy, Wendy and Lucy) and small-town Montana (Certain Women), presents our world as a living, breathing body. Her films are suffused by a fragile sense of ecological and emotional peril, the deceptively simple narratives can turn on a resonant gesture, an unspoken word or a singular look. There’s a stillness and patience to her compositions, held long past when another director might have called “cut.” Within this slow pace and observant, gentle focus are her distinct characters: America’s wild-eyed drifters and outsiders; often in direct communion with nature and imbued by loneliness, isolation and the monotony of the everyday. 

To celebrate the singular filmmaker and the cinematic release of her eagerly awaited First Cow, we’ve collaborated with MUBI to create a special edition KELLY REICHARDT t-shirt.  

A story of camaraderie and entrepreneurship in 1820s Oregon, First Cow follows two loners who team up to seek their fortune through a scheme to steal milk from the wealthy landowner’s prized cow to create delicious fried cakes for sale at the market. This tale of male friendship, pilfered dairy and the pursuit of the American dream is a true masterpiece.  

Inspired by the flora of the Pacific Northwest, this special linocut design is by artist and printmaker Kira P-J.