The Davis Feminist Film Festival is devoted to challenging sexism, racism, homophobia, ablism, and classism through film and digital media. A grassroots, campus-community effort, the festival highlights links between local, global, and transnational struggles for social justice. It strives to promote dialogue between artists, scholars, students, and community members using independent media as a starting point for broader debate.

Originally a fundraiser for the Gender and Global Issues Program at UCD, the festival has grown and is now organized by the Consortium for Women and Research in collaboration with Film Studies. All proceeds generated go toward operating costs and providing invaluable internship experience for the student organizers.

About the Davis Feminist Film Festival:

We are proud to present the fourth annual Davis Feminist Film Festival, a 2-night grassroots festival of short films featuring local, national, and international filmmakers side by side. Mixing narrative, documentary, and experimental styles, the films highlight perspectives and issues that are too often missing from mainstream media. The fourth annual festival will be held April 16 & 17, 2009 at the Veteran’s Memorial Theater on 14th St. in Davis, CA. Doors open at 7pm and films begin at 8pm. There is also space at the event to learn about local feminist activist groups and volunteer opportunities in the area.

Submissions for the 2009 festival will be accepted until February 12th, 2009. Check Submissions for more information.

Last year, we showed a range of films like “Alma,” a story about a teenage girl unaware of her status as an illegal immigrant, and “Milk,” a bouncy and artistic interpretation of a new mother’s feeling that her breast milk could save the world. Event coordinator Jaleen Francois says of the selection, “A number of films challenge borders - on maps and in our minds - but there’s a wide array of topics and techniques.”

“Many people—not only women—are excluded from the media machines, including working class men, people of color, the disabled, queer and transgendered folks,” explains event creator Danielle Fodor. “In choosing the word feminist, we decided to include films based not only upon the gender-identity of the filmmaker, but upon positionality and viewpoint.” While ‘feminist’ can be a word wrought with negative connotations, the collections represent the broad scope of issues that feminism includes. “I’ve been particularly proud of the comments I’ve heard from past audiences,” says Margareta Lelea, who has been involved with the festival the past four years. “People have called the event surprising and refreshing. It illustrates ties to pressing social issues that go beyond typical stereotypes of what feminism is, and people have been really receptive.”

For more information on the event, or for ways to sponsor or volunteer, e-mail or call (530) 752-8205.