FRIDAY, APRIL 9TH
Reception at 5pm, Films begin at 6pm

SATURDAY, APRIL 10TH
Reception at 5pm, Films begin at 6pm

Veteran’s Memorial Center Theater, 203 E. 14th Street, Davis, CA

THURSDAY, APRIL 16TH, 2009

Fifty-Fifty 8 min
Denise Nicole Green, Sarah Rebolloso McCullough, UC Davis

Join Sacramento City Rollers teammates as they school us on derby – all the while discussing how they are perceived, the changing nature of their sport, body image, costume, and appearance. Roller derby twists and subverts dominant notions of gender, sexuality, normative bodies, and sports performance. As “Spankenstein” puts it, “Derby is fifty-fifty, you can be an athlete and a sexy, ass-kicking female at the same time.”

The Future of Feminism 35 min
Cara Holmes, Dublin, Ireland

What does contemporary feminism look like? Why do we still need it? What is Ladyfest?
We hear from scholars, activists, and students in Dublin, Belfast, Copenhagen, and Berlin, as they discuss what feminism means to them. A great introduction to basic concepts of feminism, this film explores how feminism is perceived today. If you’ve been in doubt about the need for continuing feminist activism, including “the old consciousness-raising of the 70s,” this film will re-energize you!

Are You Black Enuf? : The Politics of Black Female Identity 12 min
Kunti Dudakia, Hasti Barahmand, UCLA

Stereotypes of black women have created definitions of female blackness far removed from lived experience. How do black women in the US think about, and negotiate, the cultural assumptions imposed on them, and what does it mean to be “black enuf” in the 21st Century? Through interviews and media montage, this film examines the intersectional identity of black women, who face the multiple oppressions of race, sex, and class. Includes an interview with June Jordan!

Holocaust Girls 13 min
Jenna Feldman, Chicago, Illinois

This personal meditation on postwar female Jewishness is lushly filmed, and takes on risky territory in its imagination of Jewish female sexuality. How do young Jewish girls and women make sense of the historical and Hollywood texts about women and the holocaust, such as The Diary of Anne Frank and Sophie’s Choice?  A provocative film about “the complicated and sometimes irresponsible urge to daydream or fantasize about the holocaust.”

What is Honor? 15 min
Melek Ozman, Kadin Kooperatifi, Istanbul, Turkey

The filmmaker tours four cities in Turkey, asking men and women, young and old, and people of different economic classes: “What is honor?” Through cosmopolitan and conservative perspectives, it is possible to see how the concept of honor is used as a controlling mechanism in women’s lives, but also how it is being challenged. As one man answers, honor is “the name given to men’s owning of women’s bodies.”

A Vida Politica 12 min
Kat Mansoor, Animal Monday Productions, Brighton, United Kingdom

This lively, richly colored, and beautifully shot film documents the dynamic political activism of four Brazilian women. Christina uses street theater to fight for abortion rights; Crueza, a domestic worker since age 10, organizes politically on behalf of Brazil’s eight million domestic workers; Jane models for Daspu, a fashion label run by sex workers; and Negra Jho uses hairdressing as a way to promote black identity and the message that “beauty is politics.” While each woman’s story is different, political activism has transformed all of their lives, empowering others as they empower themselves.

Shooting Women 54 min
Alexis Krasilovsky, Los Angeles, California

This global documentary reveals camerawomen’s struggles in the intensely male-dominated film industries of Hollywood, Bollywood, Afghanistan, Australia, China, France, Japan, Mexico, Senegal, and other countries. It includes secret films made by Afghani camerawomen showing women’s abuse by the Taliban, the experience of a video journalist injured in Kosovo, and footage of the TV action series “Medicopter.” These courageous women discuss what it takes to work and succeed at their jobs. Winner of the 2008 “Best International Documentary” at the Women of the World Festival in Sydney, Australia.

Private Life 20 min
Abbe Robinson, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Winner of 14 international film awards, this sexy, stylish, playful yet serious drama is set in the queer underground of 1950s England. Ruth Ackroyd leaves the monotony of her job at her father’s textile mill on a Friday evening and secretly takes a train to Manchester. There, she meets a man on the station platform, and they run into a nearby bathroom together, but all is not what it seems….

Leisure Suite 7 min
Johanna Paulsdotter Lofstedt, Stockholm, Sweden

What’s a girl supposed to do when her boyfriend is too tired to have sex? A playful look at female heterosexuality, this film depicts a woman as the subject of her own desires and fantasies rather than as an object of the male gaze. Includes a “tasteful” scene of bananas and colorful condoms!

FRIDAY, APRIL 17TH, 2009

Second-Hand Dolls 5.5 min
Anthony Weeks, San Francisco, CA

This original black and white film tells the stories of two US women: Judi, a black entrepreneur in Oakland who deals in used mannequins, and Linda, a 70-year-old white ballet dancer in San Francisco. Judi and Linda disrupt conventional notions of beauty, visibility, novelty, and usefulness by repurposing and transforming women’s bodies even after the society at large has overlooked or discarded them. The film poses an ecological vision, questioning the fetishization and consumption of that which is new and young.

Leven Tussen Grenzen (Living Between Borders) 30 min
Maja Mirkovic and Tomas Parinussa, Amersfoort, Netherlands

An intimate portrayal of two transgender people, Joli(e) and Fergus. Through their struggles regarding gender expression, body image, and sexuality, we can see how broader social structures function to create hierarchy, inclusion, and exclusion. By sharing their lives, they make a statement for the visibility of people who challenge preconceived categories of identity.

Universal Jurisdiction: Rape as Torture 17 min
Monika Barrios, Brujula Communicaciones, and Woman’s Link Worldwide

On May 3, 2006, three thousand police entered San Salvador Atenco, Mexico to suppress a protest by the town’s flower growers, which was part of a broader struggle for indigenous rights in the state of Mexico. Over 200 protesters were arrested and detained, including 47 women and five foreigners. Many of the male detainees were tortured and the women raped. Of the victims, Spaniard Christina Valls filed a criminal complaint before Spain’s National Court, invoking the principle of Universal Justice. The “Atenco Case” continues to press for recognition of sexual crimes committed in the context of armed conflict as crimes of genocide, rather than as “collateral damage.” A powerful, important film.

The Collection 7 min
Keren Albala, Mountain View, California

A curious girl investigates the mysterious disintegration of her paper world, questioning the construction of knowledge. Hand-drawn stop-motion animation creates a beautifully textured environment in this original, enigmatic, and compelling film.

Sexy, Inc: Our Children Under the Influence 35 min
Sophie Bissonnette, Montreal (Quebec), Canada

Are girls being pushed prematurely into adulthood? This hard-hitting critique of the hypersexualization of our environment suggests moves to counteract the noxious effects of media on young people. We hear from psychologists, teachers, school nurses and doctors, as well as from girls themselves.

Tom Boy 7 min
Joanna Griebel, Los Angeles, California

This moody, ironic, and accomplished animation follows a young tomboy’s journey as she is confronted with stark gender divisions. Can she remain true to herself?

She Should Have Gone to the Moon 58 min
Ulrike Kubatta, London, United Kingdom

This lyrical, dream-like film tells the story of pilot and pioneer Jerry Truhill, who was trained to become one of the first Lady Astronauts in 1961 as part of NASA’s top secret Mercury 13 program. Fictional interludes interspersed with interviews of the tough-talking and sharp-witted Truhill produce a heady narrative of childhood aspirations, shattered dreams, and a lifelong battle against female stereotypes and male prejudice.

If 2 min
Randall Elizabeth Wilson, UC Davis

An updated, political version of the old French film “The Red Balloon.” Cute and sweet, this story of an alienated girl who roams the world (aka the UCD campus) with a single red balloon among a crowd of green balloons is a metaphor for discrimination, difference, equality, and finding community.

Please note: These films are not rated and contain some sensitive material that may not be appropriate for all audiences. Please use discretion.