The 2005 Collection and the 2007 Collection of the Davis Feminist Film Festival are currently available at the Women’s Resources and Research Center Library, The Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Resource Center Library and at the Shields Library Special Collections at the University of California, Davis. Additionally limited copies have been sent to universities and non-profits including the following:

University of California, Los Angeles
Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, Canada
Feminist Film Archive, Madrid, Spain
International Female Film Festival, Malmo, Sweden
Stowarzyszenie Aktywne Kobiety, Sosnowiec, Poland

We currently cannot distribute any more copies of the collection.

credit: Richard Leung

credit: Maggie Tran | edited from film and audio by Jesse Johnson

2008 Promo videos created as part of Glenda Drew’s Design course Fall, 2007.

2008 Davis Feminist Film Festival
Curated by Jaleen Francois, Margareta Lelea, Jenkey Hu and Lindsay Walker

Thursday, February 28th, 2008

Theme: Crossing Borders

Bhanwari the Police Woman • 2007, 7.30min • Going to School • New Delhi, India

At 24 years old, Bhanwari Malawat is a police constable in Rajastan, India, running the force’s women’s desk. This unlikely and inspiring story witnesses her change from child bride to policewoman, and the changes women create when given authority.

Alien vs Predator • 2007, 4.38min • Global Action Project • New York, New York
Can the land of opportunity make good on its promises? It all depends on your immigration status. Told from the heart by youth filmmakers, this narrative follows 2 high school students in their efforts to get a university education in the U.S.

Level Playing Field • 2004, 4min • Jaleen Francois • UC Davis

In black and white, and with up-close detail, this film concretely places young people at the starting line of life. As characteristics and life histories are defined, gaps appear to divide and dominate their lives. 

Europlex • 2003, 20min • Ursula Biemann and Angela Sanders • Berne, Switzerland

The Spanish Moroccan border is no simple line.  Marked by Spanish land claims in Morocco, a migrant workforce in Spain, and a transnational waterway, this convoluted borderland twists and folds the women who inhabit it. Smuggled clothing, time zones, and shipyards are glimpses from 3 stories that document border women’s perception of place, time, and their own bodies.

200,000 Phantoms • 2007, 10min • Jean-Gabriel Periot • Tours, France

Architecture as never seen before. Through a focus on one distinctive building in Hiroshima, Japan, this animated documentary renders space and time visible while highlighting the atrocities of war.

Milk • 2007, 6min •Lisa Siders, Denise Burge, Tracy Featherstone, Elaine Lynch, Leticia Queensbury, and Jenny Ustick • Cincinnati, Ohio

Can mother’s milk could save the world? Layers of music and emotion open up the world of new motherhood. Imaginative and emancipatory.

The Dozens • 2007, 5min •Lisa Siders, Denise Burge, Tracy Featherstone, Elaine Lynch, Leticia Queensbury, and Jenny Ustick •Cincinnati, Ohio

When is the sum more than it’s parts? Six women visual artists discuss their motivation for artistic collaboration, in a project “meant to inspire and grow through society like a crystal formation… as a way for ‘women’s stories and experiences… to enter the larger world consciousness’. Warm and colorful.

Alma • 2007, 12min • Yuri Makino • Tucson, Arizona

In the words of Yuri Makino herself: “As a daughter of immigrant parents (Japanese and Swiss), I have spent much of my life and film career examining cultural borders and questions of identity...Most border films portray the experiences of migrant men. Inspired by a true story, Alma is intended to give voice to the experiences of a young Latina coming of age in rural America.”

Freedom Song • 2004, 2min • Rachel Siegel • Portland, Oregon

What is freedom? This gentle study of a bird draws our own perception into focus.

Oompie Ka Doompie • 2006, 18min • Mandy McIntosh • Glasgow, Scotland

Through a collage of 2-D and 3-D images, this film tells the story of the filmmaker’s childhood in South Africa with her Scottish family. At the film’s heart is the relationship between two white girls and Selina, the black woman who cares for them in the daytime. The use of collage underlines the separateness of black and white life, the naivety of the family and the repercussions their journey holds.

Love Refugees • 2007, 27min • E. Beth Nelsen • Melbourne, Australia

An autobiographical story about passion and equal rights.  As the most recent woman in a long line of Native Americans who have been told by the US government where they can and can’t live, this filmmaker struggles to reconcile her desire to return to the USA, as American immigration policies that deny her the right to live with her partner A gentle rhapsody on human acceptance, and the difficulty between choosing between love, financial stability, and homeland.

Friday, February 29th, 2008

Theme: Transformations

Every (Text, Image, Sound, Movie): from my cell phone • 2008, 9:05 • Darrin Martin • UCD

A quirky foray into the treasure trove of images and sounds captured in daily life: part exposé, part exploration.

Milagro • 2007, 9:05, 5min • Halimat Alabi • Santa Clara

Milagro – meaning “miracle” in Spanish – tells the story of a family forever changed by the gender ambiguity of their child. How invested are we in creating and enforcing gender roles?  A laughable poke at heteronormativity in the confines of the middle class.

Girl House Art Project • 2006, 16 min • Brooke Randolph • Santa Monica/Westside

Inspired by Judy Chicago and Miriam Schapiro’s 1972 “Womanhouse” art installation, Kesa Kivel joined forces with middle school girls to create an sculpture installation. The film follows the planning and display of the project: a bedroom filled with the fears and worries of a sexually harassed girl.

Preservation • 2008, 3 min • Jenkey Hu • UC Davis

A young girl’s love of taking photos of everything except herself clashes with her mother’s insistence of taking photos of the girl to preserve herself for “the future”. Where does the East Asian concept of “losing face” fit in with these visual technologies?

A Short Tale of Xuan • 2007, 12min • Terrie Samundra• San Francisco, CA

Xuan is a scavenger, collecting found objects and the stories that they carry. Her imagination blends with reality as she navigates through the world in between childhood and adulthood.

I Was a Teenage Feminist • 2005, 63min • Therese Shechter • Brooklyn, NY

Bracing herself against a midlife crisis, 40-year old filmmaker Therese Shechter traces her footsteps back to 1970’s feminism and then forward to discover the third wave – radical cheerleaders and all.
INTERMISSION
Belgrade Pride • 2003, 20min • Douglas Conrad • San Francisco, California

A touching and intimate introduction to LGBT movement in Belgrade, this film bears witness to the violence activists faced in organizing the first Pride Parade in Serbia 2001, and the subsequent struggle to move forward.  Followed by a Q & A with the filmmaker.

2007 DAVIS FEMINIST FILM FESTIVAL
Curated by Naomi Voosen, Shelly Buchanan, Jaleen Francois and Margareta Lelea

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 2007
The Body

Trashed Fashion (13.29) Sabrina Balderama, Morgan Flores, Sara McMullen and Amanda Ornellas UC Davis

What happens to our old clothes? “Trashed Fashion: Breaking the Cycle” advocates for consumers to prevent the flow of clothing waste into our landfills by offering alternatives to the over-consumption of fashion and the production of clothing waste. From refashioning clothes to exchanging them at clothing swaps, this video illustrates that waste prevention not only promotes sustainability, but can also foster creativity and create community.

Fashion Resistance to Militarism (10.08) Kimberly Alvarenga Oakland, CA

Offering a critical perspective, film offers explores fashion as a way of analyzing the militarization of U.S. society and culture.  Looking at what camouflage means in popular culture, this film traces its use historically as well as questioning its broader implications. This is part of The Runway Peace Project and is produced, in part, by the Women of Color Resource Center.

Even if she had been a criminal (9:30) Jean-Gabriel Periot Tours, France

Women, nationalism, war; a layering of images from after the Nazi occupation of France in 1944, focusing on the brutality and humiliation of women who collaborated with the Nazi occupation. As a means of shaming them, their hair is shaved off and they are paraded in front of a crowd.

Bed Ballet (4.0) Jennifer Beth Guerin Austin, Texas

This is a collaborative video exploring notions of the everyday (beds and bodies). Through the lens of enchantment, it evokes a feeling of connection and play, while simultaneously suggesting birth, death, intimacy, loss and grief. Ultimately, the Bed Ballet offers a stage for women to relate, to be seen, hopefully hinting at ways that other women can create environments in which to celebrate themselves and others.

La Purisima (8.20) Jillian Hernandez and Yesenia Serra Miami, Florida

La Purisima explores a young, pregnant Latina’s quest to achieve empowerment, resist machismo culture, and create a new definition of motherhood. The film derives its title from the patron Virgen Mary of Nicaragua, which symbolizes the phenomena of “Marianismo” in Latin culture, in which the role of women is marked by unattainable moral superiority and submissiveness. The film features the first person, spoken-word narrative of Jillian Hernandez in response to her pregnancy and the gender issues that came to the forefront of her life as a result, interspersed with documentary footage of interviews gathered in the streets of Miami with a diverse group of women regarding constructions of gender and motherhood. 

Buoyant (27.30) Dr. Julie Wyman UC Davis

Poignant and witty, this film takes us for a mysterious journey looking at the evolution of theories of water.  These images are paired with a look at the Padded Lilies, a synchronized swim team and a testament to a celebration of all bodies.

Should I? Should I Not? (1.30) Leslie Acosta, Smill Alix, Elizabeth Arcos,
Stephanie Castillo, Luis Cruz, Diana Del Rosario, Daniela Hiches, Imani James, Judith Jimenez, Heather Urena New York, New York

An animation made by youth in the Global Action Project (G.A.P.), this film takes a hard look at sexual pressure often faced by young women. made by a student in their program about pressures that young women face to engage in sexual activity. Since 1991, G.A.P. has been empowering youth to be media artists and community leaders. 

Bandage, Socks, and Facial Hair (34.0) Maria Takacs Budapest, Hungary

This film, submitted by the Budapest Lesbian Film Collective, is a documentary drama of a group of Hungarian women gathering to transform themselves into their male alter egos during the course of a day long workshop, exploring transformations they embody the sex and energy of a gender that proclaims ‘it’s a man’s world’. By day new identities are dawned, and by night we embark on a gentle journey through the streets of Budapest.

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2007
Davis Feminist Film Festival – Creating Change

Announcements by Naomi and Shelly.  Announcements by Naomi and Shelly.  What is the festival?  Why is this important? Where do the fundraiser proceeds go?  What is GGI and internships.
*A plug for the opening of Tulsi’s film which will be a benefit to pay school fees for a group of school children in Delhi. *Announcement of Silent Auction, (Co-sponsors and business supporters…) *An announcement regarding looking for a filmmaker for the Queer Activism – Angie Project.

The Keeper of the Clay (9.58) Christa Bella Sacramento, CA

Heeding the advice of her therapist and a faithful companion, a women who was disfigured by a car crash faces the outside world for the first time since that fateful day. Exploring her new identity through a clay workshop and the words of a blind woman.

A Garota (4.03) Fernando Pinheiro Brasil

‘The Kid’ tells the story of a child condemned for playing with a doll, through black and white film, watercolor painting and on canvas.  Through symbolic and poetic language, ‘The Kid” asks questions and reflects on human misery and the inequality of rent distribution, child labor, and childhood loss.

The Witches of Gambaga (13.0) Yaba Badoe Accra, Ghana

Over a thousand women live in camps for witches in the northern region of Ghana, West Africa. Asara Azindow is one of them. Evicted from her village in 1997, she lost her home and restaurant when she was accused of starting a meningitis epidemic. How does Azindow’s life in a women’s camp in Gambaga fit into a century-old migration of women fleeing religious and communal violence?

The Telling Takes Me Home (28.26) Heather Carawan Tacoma, Washington

Social justice issues seen through a young woman’s eye, using music and memory to tell the story of her parents, Guy and Candie Carawan. These folk singers carried their work from the deep south of the Civil Right’s Movement into today’s daunting struggle for peace. Heather Carawan’s reflections on growing up are mixed with the rich musical and political landscape of her parents’ views on race relations, community organizing, and the sustaining power of song. Includes footage from the Highlander Research and Educational Center, and pays tribute to musicians such as Nimrod Workman, Florence Reece, Chuck Neblett, and Matthew Jones.

Texas Gold (21.10) Carolyn M. Scott Santa Rosa, CA

Diane Wilson, a fourth generation fisherwoman and mother of five, began her fight with the petro-chemical industry in 1989 when she discovered that her small Texas county had been named the most toxic place in America. Witness to the mass die-off of dolphins along the Gulf Coast and the slow death of her once thriving fishing community, Diane boldly took action. Part eco-detective, part muck-raking humorist, this “unreasonable woman” recounts the hunger strikes and civil disobedience that have made her Public Enemy No. 1 to the powerful and lawless industries that routinely spill millions of pounds of toxins into our air, soil & water.

Gay? (3.0) Jean-Gabriel Periot Tours, France

A testimonial offered by Jean-Gabriel Periot about being gay.

Ruthie and Connie: Every Room in the House (55.0) directed by Deborah Dickson produced by Donald Goldmacher

They’re Jewish, they’re grandmothers, and they’re lesbians.  This film traces the friendship of 2 conventional Brooklyn housewives, raising families in the late 1950s and 1960s. Years later, Connie and Ruthie recognize their love for one another and move in together, causing an “earthquake” in their working-class neighborhood. Battling their own homophobia, depression, illness, and finally the state, Ruthie and Connie lead a historic battle for domestic partners’ rights in New York State, and beyond.
”http://www.ruthieandconniethemovie.com/index.htm” 


2005 DAVIS FEMINIST FILM FESTIVAL
Curated by danielle fodor and margareta lelea.

The Wrong Bathroom. Shani Heckman
2005. 15 min San Francisco.
A wry documentary that blows the stink out of an underreported civil rights issue - the struggle of gender-variant people to find safe public restrooms. Mixes interviews with local celebrities like punk rocker Lynne Breedlove and activist Bryan Burgess with reenactments of bathroom harassment.

Love Film #1: Two Day Film. Jesse Johnson
2003. 3 min New York
this film is the first of a series of hand processed photogram films exploring the substance of love. subtitled for the two days spent in its production in the darkroom. a collaboration with janusz jaworski (nyc), sound by melissa constantine (minneapolis).

Coming of Age. Shirley Benton
2005. 7 min Davis.
A hilarious autobiographical film about a 50 year-old woman coming to grips with the aging process in a culture obsessed with the youthful beauty. Colorful, touching and personal.

Ekletica. Maria Takacs
2004. 17 min Budapest, Hungary
A lesbian opens a dance school in Budapest. What will people say? This upbeat, groovy herstory traces the emergence of gay ballroom dancing in Hungary, and features several medal-winning dancers showing how dancing allows them to celebrate their sexuality in a traditionally “hetero” artform.

Pianista. Cecilia Martinez.
2005. 3 min Mexico
A bone-chilling black and white art film fusing erotica, death, and a love for Chopin. Reveals indign ation against the ceaseless, underinvestigated murders of women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.

Lenses. Elyssa White
2005. 6 min Davis.
A forty-year old man takes snapshots of 3 naked girls in a shower. Is this art or perversion? The filmmaker, a UCD freshman, reads a crisp, staccato spoken-word poem about the intersection of sexuality, morality, education and art criticism.

34 Questions and 1 Answer. Christine Kao
2003. 7 min. Davis.
An autobiographical essay about a daily onslaught of questions about race, culture, gender, and ideology that one woman is forced to answer as she claims her identity by her own terms, not those dictated by media and society.

Letters From Home. Nat Smith
2004. 16 min. San Francisco.
A documentary about family, gender, and misperception, overlaying the harsh advice of a mother’s letters over the gritty visuals of the everyday life of her trans-son. Raw, edgy, and honest, this film reminds us of the universal challenges of family pressure.