| 2008 San Francisco
Women's Film Festival
Wednesday, April
9, 2008: 7:00 PM
Doin it’: Sex, Disability and Video Tape directed by Beyondmedia, Salome Chasnoff and Susan Nussbaum (U.S.A., 2007, 26 min)
A group of young women with disabilities called The Empowered Fe Fes (slang for female) hit the streets of Chicago on a quest to discover the difference between how they see themselves and how others see them. The Fe Fes offer an insightful investigation into the truths about sex and disability. Their revelations are humorous, thought provoking and surprising.
Nalini By Day, Nancy by Night directed by Sonali Gulati (India/U.S.A., 2005, 27 min)
Filmmaker Sonali Gulati explores the complex issues of globalization; capitalism and identity through a witty and personal account of her journey into India’s call centers. Gulati, herself an Indian immigrant living in the US, explores the fascinating ramification of outsourcing telephone service jobs to India-including how native telemarketers take on Western names and accents to take calls from US, UK and Australia.
They Call Me Muslim directed by Diana Ferrero (Italy/France/Iran, 2006, 27 min)
In popular Western imagination, a Muslim woman in a veil – or hijab – is a symbol of Islamic oppression. What does it mean for women’s freedom when a democratic country forbids the wearing of the veil? Filmmaker Diana Ferrero portrays the struggle of two women – one in France and in Iran – to express themselves freely. In 2004, the French government instituted an “anti-veil law,” forbidding Muslim girls from wearing the hijab to school. These documentary highlights show women still struggling for the right to control their own bodies – not only under theocratic regimes, but also in secular, democratic countries where increasing discrimination against Muslims and sexism intersect.
Sold in America directed by Chelo Alvarez (U.S.A., 2007, 8 min/work-in-progress trailer)
A modern day tale of sex slavery that weaves the stories of women sold in the United States at an early age and their struggle to find freedom. In this character driven documentary, we see how these women leave behind their harrowing past and become survivors who are now fighting to change the laws that shield the traffickers as well as helping to free those still entrapped.
Thursday, April
10, 2008: 7:00 PM
Women + Art = Revolution directed by Lynn Hershman Lesson (U.S.A., 2007, 8 min/work-in-progress trailer)
Conversations with visionary artists that shaped the Feminist Art Movement.
Exposing Homelessness directed by Kerri Gawryn (U.S.A., 2006, 21 min)
Tells a story of three formerly homeless women who participated in a photography workshop where they were given 35mm cameras. Drawing on their personal experience, they were asked to use photography to express their insight into the issue of homelessness so that viewers could be exposed to a more complex and deep examination of the problem.
Identity (Maria) directed by Ana Alvarez-Errecalde (Spain, 2005, 8 min)
Jorge Rodriguez-Gerada transforms common people into icons by rendering them in charcoal as urban murals. He delves into the identity of the neighborhood where he realizes his work as well as his own identity.
See What I’m Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary directed by Hilari Scarl (U.S.A., 2007, 5 min/work-in-progress trailer)
Deaf people can do anything but hear. But an all-deaf rock n’ roll band? A deaf comic famous around the world but unknown to hearing people? A modern day Buster Keaton who is homeless yet teaches at Juilliard? This documentary follows the journey of deaf artists and performers.
Love of Indigo directed by Sandra Mbanefo Obiago (Nigeria, 2007, 5 min)
Nike Okundaye is an internationally renowned artist specializing in adire, the traditional Yoruba indigo art from Western Nigeria. She attributes her strength and success to her own early life - losing her mother at six, escaping forced marriage at 13, and overcoming polygamous marriage, physical abuse, and poverty. Nike’s work is shown in museums around the world, and she trains disenfranchised young Nigerian women- in adire, pottery and weaving, giving them the skills to earn their own, independent living.
Friday, April
11, 2008: 7:30 PM
Pudding Bowl directed by Vanessa Casswill (United Kingdom, 2007, 7 min)
The charming tale of a young girl’s triumph of imagination over the oppressive injustices of childhood.
Diggers directed by Cheryl Slean (U.S.A., 2007, 14 min)
Two gravediggers pass the time speculating about the back-stories of the people they bury and getting to know each other in the process.
Power and Passion: The Technology of Orgasm directed by Wendy Slick and Emiko Omori (U.S.A., 2007, 74 min)
At the turn of the last century, the electric vibrator became a consumer item at the same time as the toaster, and long before the vacuum cleaner. This is a story of one simple invention, the vibrator, and its relationship to one complex human behavior, the female orgasm. The history of the vibrator and its medical use had virtually vanished until historian, Rachel Maines, researching needlework patterns in the early 20th century women’s magazines, ran across ads for electric vibrators. The humorous, revealing, and informative documentary traces the history of the vibrator, which evolved along with the women’s movement, from medical to mechanical to recreational device.
Enjoy live musical performance by Grace Woods Trio.
Saturday, April
12, 2008: 1:00 PM
Bubbleman directed by Karil Daniels (U.S.A., 2005, 5 min)
A unique and whimsical performance by Bubble Artist, Sterling Johnson, who creates fascinating and unbelievable Bubble sculptures, using his own hands.
Tubby the Yellow Sub directed by Charlotte Purein (U.S.A., 2006, 2 min)
Tubby The Yellow Sub and his little pal Ducky dive below the bubbles and go on an underwater adventure. They meet a big whale, learn to spell sea turtle, count octopus legs, and a ride along side a jellyfish. The soundtrack incorporates soothing guitar and the cry of an orca, which just happens to sound like a duck!
Bear Factory directed by Yoonhee Kim (U.S.A., 2006, 2 min)
If they look for it, bears can find a good life.
How to Put a Square Peg Into a Round Hole directed by Mary C. Taylor (U.S.A., 2007, 2 min)
Gordon has some plans on how to put a square peg into a round hole. However, things don’t always go according to plan.
PK-Granny directed by Jo Meuris (U.S.A., 2006, 2 min)
A man on a bicycle mugs a little old lady. When she realizes that there is no one around her to help, she decides to take matters into her own hands. It’s a good thing Granny knows Parkour!
Zoo Logic directed by Nicole Mitchell (U.S.A., 2006, 5 min)
A fussy zookeeper contends with an uncooperative little penguin.
Camp Bean: All Things Woodsy directed by Michelle Banta Tessier (U.S.A., 2006. 6 min)
A vacation in the woods means that sometimes there must be, um, compromise.
The True Story of Sleeping Beauty directed by Jo Meuris (Canada, 2006, 1 min)
Sleeping Beauty, just like the rest of us, enjoys her sleep.
The Girl Who Hated Books directed by Jo Meuris (Canada, 2005, 8 min)
A girl who dislikes books learns the power of imagination when characters from her collection come alive and need her help.
Montrose Avenue directed by Marek Colek and Pat Shewchuk (Canada, 2005, 6 min)
A stroll down Montrose Avenue teaches us the value of neighbors and the importance of community. Everyone has somewhere to go and something to do on Montrose Avenue.
Bear's Stories directed by Marina Karpova (Russia, 2006, 13 min)
An innocent bear learns to cope in the woods with the help of some animal friends.
When You Dream directed by Liz Acosta (U.S.A., 2006, 1 min)
Even a kitten has dreams.
Bobble & Sqweek directed by Choom Lam (Canada, 2005, 2 min)
Bobble and Sqweek are two little monsters lost in a void. Using only their sense of sound, will they beat the odds and find each other.
Pretend directed by Temris Ridge (Canada, 2007, 2 min)
Various creatures and characters play and make chase in the sunshine until the school bell rings and all the characters transform back into children and return to class.
Hold the Mustard directed by Tammy Dubinsky (Canada, 2006, 3 min)
To what lengths will a polar bear go to retrieve his missing hot dog?
Creation by Emy Amborn (Canada, 2006, 3 min)
Every culture has its own creation story; its own version of how the world they live in came into existence. The film explores the idea that perhaps strangely charming monsters had something to do with it.
Mr. Flower directed by Jiyeon Han (Canada, 2005, 4 min)
Sometimes a small gift brings on big happiness. An unlikely story of affection.
Saturday, April
12, 2008: 7:00 PM
Worst Case Scenario: Butch Edition directed by Mary Guzman (U.S.A., 2006, 5 min)
A super 8 butch etiquette primer.
The Essay Assignment directed by Jennifer Lin (U.S.A., 2006, 5 min)
A 14 year-old Asian girl who lives in a small conservative town in Ohio shares her views on gays and gay marriage; her essay on same-sex marriage causes controversy in her middle school class.
My Sister, My Bride directed by Bonnie Burt (U.S.A., 2004, 26 min)
As the issue of gay marriage grips the country, this touching documentary follows the heartwarming and historic journey of two Jewish lesbians as they seek to celebrate their commitment to one another. Partners for five years, Farrell and Caren simply want to officially acknowledgement of their relationship like any other couple in love. Supported by their temple community in Nevada, the women put their own personal twist on a Jewish affirmation celebration by creating their own: a B’rit Ahuvah.
In conversation with Guinevere Turner
Saturday, April
12, 2008: 8:00 PM
Ground Zero/Sacred Ground directed by Karen Aqua (U.S.A., 1997, 9 min)
In south-central New Mexico, an ancient Native American rock art lies 35 miles from the detonation site of the world’s first atomic bomb. The juxtaposition of these sites points to the striking contrast between the two worlds which created them: one which reveres and lives in harmony with a natural world, and one which, is striving to control the forces of nature, has created a means for its destruction.
A Moment’s Reverie directed by Tess Martin (United Kingdom, 2007, 10 min)
A central character, who travels on a train, becomes a window into another dimension where the words come to life, the truths are revealed, and wishes are simply wishes.
Dear Alphabet directed by Marina Budovsky (U.S.A., 2006, 7 min)
An experimental cartoon about a girl and what happens when a monster eats her mother. When she still cannot escape the depths of chaos, a magnificent storm washes her sadness away.
Imprint directed by Cecilia Araneda (Canada, 2007, 6 min)
The transient connection of two leaves a lingering memory on one. A handcrafted film, with many sections processed, coloured and contact-printed by hand.
Sun in the Night Time directed by Anne Wilkins (United Kingdom, 2007, 4 min)
Grief for lost son isolates a mother from her daughter. Imagined friends reunite the family and bring a light in the darkness.
Through These Trackless Waters by Elizabeth Henry (U.S.A., 2007, 13 min)
The ecology of the planet connects with the ecology of our minds. In the waking dream, all is juxtaposed and, as Kuleshov discovered, all is related.
Tango Russe directed by Ira Eduardovna (U.S.A., 2005, 15 min)
This video presents five scenes that were shot in different European hotel rooms during the course of one year. In the video, the filmmakers stages herself in front of the camera and interacts with other characters and objects, accompanied with a recording of her father’s whistling of an old Russian tango.
Mr. Gary on the Feedback Show directed by Lise Swenson and Richard Schimpf (U.S.A., 2007, 13 min)
A woman struggles to have control over her eerily mischievous TV and radios. When she hears that her favorite radio personality, is hosting a special call-in edition, she finds the courage to pick up the telephone and re-establish order in her media-driven universe.
Torchlight Tango directed by Kerry Laitala and Robert Fox (U.S.A., 2005, 20 min)
A burlesque romp through the world of direct cinema. A film about making a film, Torchlight Tango compresses time and expands light refractions to teeter between frantic and frozen moments revealing the filmmaking process to be a solitary endeavor of intimate tactility. The film is entirely hand-made and process film is an inventive tribute to the process of conjuring images using light to activate silver halides as the maker coaxes the latent image to life through the alchemy of hand processing.
Daphne or the Forbidden Touch by Claudia Leger (U.S.A., 2007, 9 min)
Daphne or The Forbidden Touch revisits the Greek myth of Daphne to tell the story of a woman’s recovery from a psychotic episode.
Plus special performance! “Little Bassy Velvet”, Kerry Laitala’s live triple-screen projector performance.
Sunday, April
13, 2008: 2:00 PM
And Then She Was Gone directed by Jacqueline Pennewill and Pete Konczal (U.S.A., 2007, 7 min)
A story of a young woman who meets a mysterious woman in a park. She engages the woman in conversation and finds that the woman is both the key to her past and the mystery of her future.
PK-Granny directed by Jo Meuris (U.S.A., 2007, 2 min)
A man on a bicycle mugs a little old lady. When she realizes that there is no one around her to help, she decides to take matters into her own hands. It’s a good thing Granny knows Parkour!
Par Avion by Liz Van Verth (U.S.A., 2007, 3min)
A lady finds her new life in old postcards. Through these postcards she travels to several locations and brings back a piece of that world with her.
Look Us in the Eye: The Old Women’s Project directed by Jennifer Abod (U.S.A., 2006 27 min)
Meet Cynthia Rich, Mannie Garza and Janice Keaffaber, founders of the Old Women’s Project in San Diego, rage against ageism with creativity and wit. Old Women’s Project smartly allies itself with several single-issues movements that touch the lives of old women –and us all.
The Oldest Basketball Team In the World directed by Sharon McGowan (Canada, 2006, 47 min)
The Retreads, a group of former women basketball players, become the first over the ages of 65 to play in the World Masters Games. Their average age is 72. One has an artificial hip, another had two heart attacks. From the first days of training to the last buzzer, this film rocks!
Sunday, April
13, 2008: 2:00 PM
Abeer directed by Elizabeth Lazebnik (Canada, 2007, 14 min)
A war crime committed by American soldiers, who in 2006 stalked, kidnapped and gang raped a 14 year-old Iraqi girl Abeer Al-Janabi after slaughtering her family. Three North American girls give voice to Abeer telling her story.
Perversion of Justice directed by Melissa Mummert (U.S.A., 2007, 30 min)
Meet Hamedah Hasan and her three daughters, a family caught in the web of our nation’s federal sentencing guidelines and drug conspiracy laws. Hamedah fled from an abusive relationship and sought refuge at home of her cousin, who was selling drugs. When her cousin was arrested, prosecutors also charged Hamedah as a conspirator in the drug-selling operation. What happened next shocked Hamedah, her attorney and outraged the Bush-appointed Federal judge who sentenced her, calling this the ‘the most grotesque perversion of justice I can think of.”
Africa’s Daughters directed by Natalie Halpern (U.S.A., 2007, 25 min)
Two Ugandan girls with big dreams challenge their culture, defying the odds in a country where a high school education is generally reserved for boys. Hoctavia is one of 31 children in her family, most of whom have dropped out of school. Ruth lives in a tiny apartment in a Kampala slum with her mother and three siblings. Graduating from high school is the only way they can lift themselves and their families out of poverty. Like millions of girls in Africa who will never move beyond primary school, their challenges are not unique, their story is.
Midnight’s Lost Children directed by Alison O’Reilly (U.S.A., 2006, 25 min)
Filmmaker, Alison O’Reilly, ran across an article that inspired her to make a documentary exposing the extreme poverty that children in Calcutta face everyday.
Sunday, April
13, 2008: 5:00 PM
Fighting Auditions directed by Laura Neri (U.S.A., 2007, 10 min)
Gabrielle is a bi-racial actress trying to get parts. Any parts. But she keeps getting pigeonholed into stereotypical or downright ridiculous roles, such as ‘maid’, or ‘indigenous woman’. How is a determined girl to overcome first-glance judgments based on her skin color?
Tie a Yellow Ribbon directed by Joy Dietrich (U.S.A., 2007, 87 min)
Jenny Mason, a Korean American adoptee, steams up lattes at a hip Manhattan espresso bar, while dreaming of becoming of a photographer. She is very much alone in the big city, cutting off her contact with her midwestern family at the age of 14 after a childhood indiscretion with her older adoptive brother, Joe. When her roommate asks her to move out, Jenny’s fear of abandonment resurfaces. This turn leads her to meet a new roommate. She develops a tender friendship with her new roommate and neighbor and discovers a different side of herself. Her adoptive brother, Joe, suddenly appears, stirring up long-suppressed feelings of her past.
Sunday, April
13, 2008: 7:00 PM
Crickets directed by Kari Nevil (U.S.A., 2007, 4 min)
When a man finds himself in an unpredictable location, he questions the woman who greets him there.
Women Behind the Camera directed by Alexis Krasilovsky (U.S.A., 2007, 90 min)
Only 4% of cinematographers on the largest budget American Films are women. Here are the riveting stories of women cinematographers all over the globe – Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Iran, Mexico, Russia, Senegal and more – as these gifted women compete against all odds for a role in movie-making.
Sunday, April
13, 2008: 8:00 PM
Ghost Tracks directed by Gabriella Arredondo (U.S.A., 2007, 9 min)
This documentary explores the famous San Antonio’s Urban Legend: The Ghost Tracks of the Southside San Antonio.
The Incubus directed by Jennifer Dombek (U.S.A., 2007, 16 min)
Mario, an average middle-aged man whose life is an organized pattern-until, that is, Enzo literally walks into him. Enzo seems to know Mario, though Mario doesn’t recall ever having seen him before. The next day, Mario discovers Enzo in the back of his car, dead!
Fear Itself directed by Maya Bastian (U.S.A., 2007, 9 min)
A young woman awakens from a routine surgical procedure to suspicions that her body has been tampered with. Her cries for help are cast aside by friends and co-workers, provoking her inner world to slowly disintegrate. Eventually, her fears manifest into terrifying reality that ultimately leads to her shattering destruction of self.
Para-Normal directed by Lauren Timmons (U.S.A., 2007, 16 min)
Ben is an aspiring paranormal researcher with one night to conduct the investigation of a lifetime. Problem is, tonight could be the last straw for Ben’s skeptical girlfriend Sheila. And Ben’s best friend Travis is more interested in the new girl than ghosts. Yet despite all the complications, Ben presses on, determined to find the evidence that will prove everyone wrong.
Teenage Bikini Vampire directed by Devi Snively
(U.S.A., 2006, 7 min)
A short romantic comedy about a teenage vampire who dreams of fun in the sun but ultimately settles for the next best thing.
Raven Gets a Life by Devi Snively (U.S.A., 2006, 9 min)
When a 150-year old vampire, trapped in the body of a 12 year-old girl, is diagnosed with manic depression, she seeks solace from prescription drugs, Bela Lugosi and the Grim Reaper.
Katalog by Rania Ajami (U.S.A., 2006, 9 min)
What happens when a government agent finds his body at the mercy of a lethal kind of state control and his life hijacked by a cigarette-smoking monster, a carnivorous nurse, and a beautiful blonde?
And the Woods Fell Silent Again by Rania Ajami (U.S.A., 2007, 15 min)
A forest warden and his strange companion are faced with a question: two girls don’t just tear each other apart, do they?
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