32nd Annual University of Wisconsin System
Women’s Studies Conference
Women and the Environment (of Women’s Film)
Women’s Studies (WS) and LGBTQ Film Series
Organized by Karin Wolf
FRIDAY
Session 1 8:30-9:45
Silent Choices Faith Pennick
This documentary discusses "the complexity of being a woman" and the
silence around abortion in the Black community by bringing a historical, cultural,
and religious context for an issue tackled from all perspectives. Through dramatizations
and interviews, Silent Choices chronicles the stories of women who had illegal
abortions years ago and young women dealing with the issue now. Class of differences,
the church, Margaret Sanger's Harlem clinic, Black Nationalism and the civil
rights movement all play an important role in what often becomes a politicization
because of personal choices.
Video, 2007, 60 minutes
No Films During Welcome and Plenary Panel 10:00 – 11:00
Session 2 11:15-12:30
Maid in America Anayansi Prado
Telma, an immigrant from El Salvador, is a nanny for an American boy who spends
so much time with her that he calls her "Mommy;" Judith has left her
daughters behind in Guatemala in order to work as a maid. The "globalization
of motherhood" is just one of many issues tackled in this timely documentary
that explores the lives of three female domestic workers in Los Angeles. With
great candor, Telma, Judith, and Eva, who works as a maid while studying to
be an accountant, tell their stories and share their daily routines over a period
of several years, making this documentary both socially vital and emotionally
gripping. Video, 2004, 58 minutes
No Films During Lunch 12:30-2:00
Session 3 2:15-3:15
Period: The End of Menstruation? - Giovanna Chesler
How has menstruation changed over time? What are the impacts of new "menstrual
suppression" drugs on women's health and their perception of themselves
as women? These are just two of the questions explored in this broad-ranging
documentary. Chesler has assembled an impressive variety of interviews with
doctors, artists, and ordinary women from around the US. The importance of this
film lies in the way it brings light to fundamental biological experience that
is rarely spoken about in the public arena. With collected oral histories of
menstruation over ten years, Chesler displays a sensitivity to diverse viewpoints
that will challenge what you thought (or didn't think) about menstruation. 16mm,
2005, 54 minutes
Session 4 3:30-4:45
Boy I Am - Sam Feder and Julie Hollar
A well made documentary about three transgendered people prior to, during, and
after chest surgery. They struggle with authenticity, gender, race, class, access
and privilege. Partners, friends and experts sound off about taking on masculinity
as we know it, deepening the discussion of masculinity and expanding current
thoughts around feminism. Video, 2006, 72 minutes
Session 5 5:00-6:00
A.W.O.L - Brigid Maher
In the Iraqi desert, a runaway US soldier is found by local children and brought
to their grandmother's home. This allegorical story is told largely without
words, as the children gesture to the battered female soldier, and the grandmother's
gentle touch heals her wounds. Maher has created a ghostly narrative of human
connection, with subtle political questions lying in the background. Video,
2005, 19 minutes, Lebanon, Arabic with English subtitles.
The Angel Makers - Astrid Bussnik
Crime or escape? In 1929, in the Hungarian village of Nagyrév,
51 women were arrested on 140 charges of poisoning men, mostly their husbands.
With a subtle hand and a respect for its subjects, this documentary records
the oral histories of those who remember this sensational episode. Bussink juxtaposes
their explanations for the "uprising" with pensive sequences that
capture the slow pace of life in this remote village. Video, 2005 34 minutes,
Hungary, Hungarian with English subtitles.
SATURDAY
Session 6 8:30-9:45
Period: The End of Menstruation? - Giovanna Chesler
How has menstruation changed over time? What are the impacts of new "menstrual
suppression" drugs on women's health and their perception of themselves
as women? These are just two of the questions explored in this broad-ranging
documentary. Chesler has assembled an impressive variety of interviews with
doctors, artists, and ordinary women from around the US. The importance of this
film lies in the way it brings light to fundamental biological experience that
is rarely spoken about in the public arena. With collected oral histories of
menstruation over ten years, Chesler displays a sensitivity to diverse viewpoints
that will challenge what you thought (or didn't think) about menstruation. 16mm,
2005, 54 minutes
Session 7 10:00-11:15
Boy I Am – Sam Feder and Julie Hollar
A well made documentary about three transgendered people prior to, during, and
after chest surgery. They struggle with authenticity, gender, race, class, access
and privilege. Partners, friends and experts sound off about taking on masculinity
as we know it, deepening the discussion of masculinity and expanding current
thoughts around feminism. Video, 2006, 72 minutes
No Films During Lunch 11:30 – 1:00
Session 8 1:15-2:15
I Started Early - Maureen Selwood
An animated interpretation of the poem by Emily Dickinson, about a young girl
who walks by the sea. The simplicity of the images and the poem suggest other
meanings connected to womanhood and life. Video, 2007, 2 minutes
With What Shall I Wash – Maria Trenor
A sadly beautiful aria haunts a melancholy transwoman as her day in the red
light district of a Spanish city comes to an end. Video, 2003, 10 minutes Spain.
Draft 9 - Dani Levanthal
A masterpiece of editing, Levanthal presents rich short clips and seemingly
unrelated snapshots of daily life. Beautiful, touching and thought provoking.
Draft 9 invokes deeper understanding of everything from our relationship to
animals, to quotidian routine, to the legacy of genocide. Video, 2003, 28 minutes
Session 9 2:30-3:30
Doin it - The Empowered Fe Fees & Beyond Media
The Empowered Fe Fees show us that even though they might be disabled, they
have the same desires and urges as everyone else. Through delightfully frank
on-the-street interviews and discussions with each other they make us laugh
and think, demanding respect and self-determination. Video, 2007, 35 minutes
Twitch - Leah Meyerhoff
An understated tale of a teenage girl who cares for her disabled mother while
struggling to be her own person. Moving, nuanced performances shy away from
the spoken word in order to evoke complex and contradictory emotions. Video,
2005, 10 minutes
Session 10 3:45-4:45
Where's My Boyfriend? - Gretchen Hogue
An unexpected combination of media images question women's socialization into
gender roles and the anxiety it creates. Collage animation bluntly and explicitly
asks the question...Video, 2003, 4 minutes
HPV Boredom 1, 2, & 3 - Giovanna Chesler
Welcome to Giovanna's bedroom, where she's recovering from HPV complications...very
slowly. Video, 2006-07, 4 minutes
Like a Ship in the Night - Melissa Thompson
Each year 8000 Irish women go to England for abortions, here are three stories.
In a country where, because of its strong Catholic tradition, contraception
wasn't even available until the mid-1980's, the penalty for having an abortion
or helping a woman get one is up to life in prison. Like a Ship in the Night
illuminates the importance of basic human rights in a manner that is globally
relevant. Video, 2006, 30 minutes, USA/Ireland/UK
Session 11 5:00-6:00
Maid in America – Anayansi Prado
Telma, an immigrant from El Salvador, is a nanny for an American boy who spends
so much time with her that he calls her "Mommy;" Judith has left her
daughters behind in Guatemala in order to work as a maid. The "globalization
of motherhood" is just one of many issues tackled in this timely documentary
that explores the lives of three female domestic workers in Los Angeles. With
great candor, Telma, Judith, and Eva, who works as a maid while studying to
be an accountant, tell their stories and share their daily routines over a period
of several years, making this documentary both socially vital and emotionally
gripping. Video, 2004, 58 minutes