Back by popular demand! Join us for an evening of Womxn in Film II, curated by Zoe, founder of WOMXN TO THE FRONT and teacher of our upcoming Video Production Lab Workshop Series.
We know that more Womxn behind the camera means more diverse and inclusive representation on screen and we want to celebrate and share recent work by Womxn.
Directors on screening:
Reaa Puri - DE/FINING LINES
Jalena Keane-Lee - Period Girl
Margot Terc - Remind Me
Nicole Pfister - Mother*F*CK*RS +Spell
Zoe Map - Javier Ninja: The Heir
We’ll have all new films to screen for you! Details coming soon!
$5 if you RSVP
$7 at the door
BYOB!
Directors on view:
Reaa Puri – De/Fining Lines
Reaa Puri is an award-winning filmmaker, TEDx speaker and co-founder of Breaktide Productions, a women-of-color-owned production company. Reaa has won numerous international film awards from New York to China and London and was selected as a Sundance New Voices Lab semifinalist. Her original work frequently explores sexual violence, accessibility, and transnational identity. From shooting mission-driven campaigns for brands like Nike and having her photography published in Vogue Magazine to working on documentaries on activist movements in Oakland, Hawaii, and beyond, her work has a range of skill and passion. Reaa is a Roselyn Schneider Eisner Prize recipient for excellence in film. Previously, she has led video teams for digital publications like Wear Your Voice, Carbonated.TV, and Hearst Digital Media. Reaa earned her bachelor’s degree in film from the University of California, Berkeley, and grew up between California, India, and Kuwait, which influenced her decision to intersect media with social justice.
De/Fining Lines by Reaa Puri explores the relationship between intimacy and trauma. This film grapples with the issue of deconstructing one’s identity after experiencing acts such as rape, sexual assault, domestic violence, and varying forms of interpersonal violence and abuse. Operating as a space for survivors to address and confront our PTSD and internal dialogue, this project reclaims the conversation and creates a camaraderie amongst survivors. De/fining Lines addresses the complexities of concepts such as "victim," "survivor," and "activist”, using a poetic, personal, and intimate approach to bring voice to a silenced issue.
Jalena Keane-Lee - Period Girl
Jalena is a social justice filmmaker and the spring 2018 Sally Burns Shenkman Woman Filmmaker Fellow.
Her work has addressed issues such as indigenous land rights, destigmatizing menstruation, the importance of campus activism, and the meaning of consent.
Jalena co-founded Breaktide Productions, a production company run by women of color dedicated to democratizing filmmaking by making content that elevates underrepresented voices on camera and behind the scenes.
Her writing has been featured in Seventeen Magazine, The Tempest and NBC.com, and she has made films all around the world, from Hawaii and Prague, to Yangon, which have gone on to be award-winning shorts.
Head to the Storytelling tab to see how Jalena uses documentary, narrative, advocacy, writing, and art to tell compelling stories that spark social change.
Period Girl by Jalena Keane-Lee
PERIOD GIRL is a short documentary that follows Nadya Okamoto, a 20 year-old Harvard sophomore who started the non-profit PERIOD Org, as she opens up about some of the personal trauma that helps fuel her work.
Margot Terc – Remind Me
Margot Terc is a zine-maker, writer, and visual artist obsessed with projects and creative resistance. Born in the Dominican Republic, and raised in the Bronx, Margot uses creative projects as a way to process and build.
Remind Me by Margot Terc came from the feeling of disconnect at work, and the resentment towards the capitalist systems that take so much of our time and energy. It is a compilation of stock footage, with writing by Margot, and music by LUNA GOD.
Nicole Pfister - Mother*F*CK*RS and Spell
Nicole’s is a self-taught visual artist within the fields of illustration, fine art, photography and film. 2009 she founded the Switzerland based jazz record company ANUK Label and co-produced up to 30 albums until now. Focused on film and photography her work resonates with a sensitivity that orbits beyond the ordinary and far off from what the human eye can see. Her visuals are cinematic in style and her technical vision strives to capture timeless images with yet highly contemporary aesthetic. Over the years she has worked in set and costume design, as a choreographer, art director, photographer, illustrator, writer, producer, editor and director.
Mother*F*CK*RS by Nicole Pfister is a short about three women seeking subversive parallels in their work as mothers, and makers of performance and choreography - presenting the maternal body as a site from which to question identity, independence and love. Starring Emma Murray, Nadine Fuchs and Emma Ribbing.
SPELL by Nicole Pfister An otherworldly music video for eclectic pop singer Brandy Butler. “Being under someone’s spell and making a connection soul to soul, neglecting all given circumstances. Questioning the aesthetic of gender and sexuality. Merging to be all-one; to be the universe as the astoundingly beautiful glitter self that it is”. Starring Janek Ackermann and Tosca Saba Luisoni
Zoe map - Javier Ninja: The Heir
Zoe is an award winning filmmaker officially selected at SXSW 2019 with a production company based in Brooklyn New York called Zoe Map Films. “Zoe’s vision captures urban landscapes with a focus on documenting the human experience through the lens of ART, MUSIC & CULTURE.”
Her career pursuits as a filmmaker brought her to New York City where she currently lives and produces music videos, fashion editorial videos, documentaries and commercials. In 2013 she opened a space for artistic expression and performance called “Exit Room”. The unconventional gallery hosted and supported artists from all over the world and enjoyed a following of art critiques, art buyers and journalists who always promoted and reviewed her unique projects . In 2017 she started her project “Womxn to The Front”, providing a platform for women film makers, visual artists and musicians; supporting gender equality with such tremendous impact. Zoe has produced more than 20 exhibitions and an impressive number of videos and musical performances. She curates events and gatherings to raise awareness on social justice with recurring themes of diversity and racial equality in American culture. Zoe amplifies cultural narratives through the arts and film and connects individuals to the people, and resources they need to create a better future for themselves.
Javier Ninja: The Heir by Zoe Map is a short documentary exploring the life of the living legend dancer, multi-award winner Javier Madrid aka Javier Ninja member and father of the Iconic House of Ninja founded by his mentor and legendary vogue dancer Willi Ninja.
Here is what we viewed last WOMXN IN FILM:
Amy Gardner - FUEL
Irshad Manji - Moral Courage Genesis Briggs
Jasmine Lynea - The Mixtape: Stay Black, Baby
Zoe map - DUMB DUMB
Amy Gardner – FUEL
FUEL by Amy Gardner, a fully women production releases new experimental dance film that explores the complexities of feminism and current social conditions while fusing movement, fashion and Kodak’s 35mm film.
Amy Gardner: “It all began with the desire to merge dance and film. When I say film, I mean 35mm film. Those are really my two favorite things and means of expression. I also wanted to create and direct my own project, as opposed to contribute to someone else’s idea. In terms of structure, I wanted to create an essay, a movement essay, if you will, to reflect upon current social conditions, feminism, and human nature. As the idea grew, the idea to assemble a women crew became another component to the project. What I find interesting is that in the past year feminism and the idea of women supporting women has grown so substantially. When this idea came about, it wasn’t quite as relevant as it is now.”
Irshad Manji - Moral Courage Genesis Briggs
Irshad Manji is an internationally acclaimed educator, author, speaker and founder of the Moral Courage Project. Based in Hawaii, Moral Courage equips people to do the right thing in the face of their fears. In-between books, Irshad spearheaded the Emmy-nominated PBS documentary, Faith Without Fear. She also launched Moral Courage TV, the YouTube channel that features people who are standing up when others want them to sit down. The question sparked by every episode: What do you stand for and what are you doing about it? Moral Courage Genesis Briggs A Biloxi native and activist has been outspoken about wanting to change the state flag. Her protest in a New York City club made national headlines last year, but it also caught the attention of documentary filmmakers.
Genesis Briggs, better known as Genesis Be, made a trip home to Biloxi with a camera crew in tow. The documentary entitled, "Confederate Pride, White Supremacy, and My State Flag" was just released on Moral Courage Project's website.
The opening scene of the documentary shows Genesis Be on stage publicly protesting the confederate flag last year in her now home of New York. She can be seen wearing the flag and hanging a noose around her neck.
Jasmine Lynea - The Mixtape: Stay Black, Baby
Jasmine Lynea is an Independent Film Director, Producer, Photographer and Editor, based in NYC and PHL. Since graduating from Temple University, Jasmine has remained incredibly consistent in developing her craft in media production by directing, producing or editing, music videos, short-films, promos or documentaries.
The Mixtape: Stay Black, Baby by capturing an exhilarating reflection on Black America, This is complex portrait of black youth rising, black art glorified, black voices uncovered, black struggle acknowledged and black empowerment revered. Poetically, each scene elaborates on current political and social issues within the black community issues that must be recognized for change to encourage growth. Musically driven, The Mixtape: Stay Black, Baby! arrives at a very important time in America and is only present to self-reflect and prosper.
Zoe map - DUMB DUMB
Zoe is an Italian filmmaker based in Brooklyn, New York. Zoe’s vision captures urban landscapes with a focus on documenting the human experience through the lens of art, music and culture. Zoe amplifies cultural narratives and raises awareness on social justice with recurring themes of diversity and racial equality in American culture.
DUMB DUMB Music Video won “Best Music Video” At Hip Hop Film Festival 2018 NYC and also was officially selected to SXSW 2019.
“From the moment Cipherella presses play on her ghetto blaster stereo, viewers become enthralled by the 90's hip imagery. She and her crew begin marching through a parking lot styled in matching denim outfits. Her opening rhyme, “true story everything I say you type. World of collision, catch my vision, hop my flight” alerts fans of the hip-hop cosmos to reflect in the most rhythmic of ways, shaking us from our mainstream trance and grooving us in a more fulfilling direction.”
Film Distributor Index. Page 13 from INCLUSION or INVISIBILITY? GENDER MEDIA, DIVERSITY, & SOCIAL CHANGE INITIATIVE Comprehensive Annenberg Report on Diversity in Entertainment by STACY L. SMITH, PhD, MARC CHOUEITI, KATHERINE PIEPER, PhD, 2016.