International Film Festival of Women Directors May 4, 2005

Point of View in collaboration with CREA, FFSI and Habitat Film club present
International Film Festival of Women Directors

MADE BY WOMEN 2

Venue: Stein Auditorium, India Habitat Centre, Lodhi Road
Dates: 4-6 May 2005
Time: 7: 30 PM

ENTRY FREE
FIRST COME, FIRST SEATED

May 4, 2005. 7:30 PM Onwards

Harlequin.
Dir: Lotte Reigner (Germany 1931, 19 mins, 35mm) Short Classic Animation
Lotte Reigner is the first person to ever make an animated feature film in the history of cinema. She created unique and amazing silhouette animation films, which offer entertainment and amazement for the ages. This film is a snippet from her body of work.

My Body
Dir: Margreth Olin (Norway, 2002, 26 mins, 35mm) Short Documentary
Margreth Olin?s body is imperfect: she has flat feet, bumpy toes and her teeth are all wrong. Like any woman, she looks in the mirror and sees faults in her body. Her provocative examination of the body and identity resonates with everyone who's ever felt self-conscious about their physical appearance.
Awards: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (Best Documentary) Amanda Awards, Norway (Best Documentary) at One World Human Rights Festival, (Best short film) DokumentART, Germany (Main award)

The Underground Orchestra
Dir: Heddy Honigman (Netherlands/Peru, 1998, 65mins, DVD) Documentary
In the subway stations of Paris, dozens of musicians from varying backgrounds perform each day. These musicians, however, often carry with them histories of their native lands, being refugees who may never be able to return home. It is a stirring account of their survival in exile.
Awards: Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival (Special Jury Prize) SCAM Award (Cinema Du Reel) Netherlands Film Festival (Dutch Film Critics Award) Vancouver International Documentary Film Festival (Humanitarian Award)

The Day I Became A Woman
Dir: Marziyeh Meshkini (Iran, 2001, 78 mins, 35mm) Feature
This three-part allegorical vision consists of episodes from the lives of three women at different stages of their life: childhood, adulthood, and old age. Set on the island of Kish, the movies has a surreal quality that forms a fascinating artistic counterweight to its humanistic thrust.
Awards: Venice Film Festival (Best Film), Toronto International Film Festival (Discovery Award), Pusan International Film Festival (New Currents Award), Chicago International Film Festival (Silver Hugo).

May 5, 2005. 7:30 PM Onwards

Mona Lisa Descending a Staircase
Dir: Joan Gratz (U.S.A, 1992, 7 mins, DVD) Short Animation
Using the innovative technique of clay painting, artist and filmmaker Joan Gratz takes the viewer on an amazing colorful journey through the development of modern art from Van Gogh to Warhol.
Awards: Oscar Award (Best Short Film) Bombay International Documentary Short and Animation Film Festival (Best Animation Film) Melbourne International Film Festival (Best Short Animation)

The Dowager?s Feast
Dir: Joan Gratz (U.S.A 1996, 5 mins, DVD) Short Animation
The clay painting in this film sets powerful abstract images swirling to the music of Portland's Three Leg Torso.
Awards: L.A. Animation Celebration (Best Experimental Film)

Cold Jazz
Dir: Jayne Parker (UK 1993, 17 mins, DVD) Short
A woman opens and swallows oysters, contrasting with a powerful performance by a saxophonist.

True Story about Love
Dir: Melissa Kyu-Jung Lee (Australia, 2001, 27 mins, DVD) Short Documentary
It is Melissa?s personal story, a probing, and fun-loving film that raises issues about Asian men, sexual identity, and notions of ?truth? and ethics in documentary filmmaking.
Awards: WOW, Zonta (Emerging Filmmaking Award) Yamagata Documentary Film Festival (First Prize New Asian Currents Section)

Sancharram Dir: Ligy Pullappally (India, 2004, 106 mins, 35mm) Feature
It is a sensitive story of love and discovery between two young girls growing up in a rural landscape in South India. When their feelings evolve beyond friendship and the neighbors begin to talk, one of girl's family flies into a panic and quickly plans for a conventional arranged marriage.
Awards: Chicago International Film Festival (Best Film)

May 6, 2005. 7:30 PM Onwards

The Whirlpool
Dir: Jayne Parker (U.K 1997, 8 mins, DVD) Short
A choreographed underwater spectacle, a woman dances in her red shoes at the bottom of a pool to piano music by Schumann.

Barbeiros
Dir: Mervi Jukkonen (Finland, 2001, 12 mins, DVD) Short Documentary
Eighty-six-year-old Jose owns a small barbershop in an old neighborhood in Porto, Portugal. Armondo is also a hairdresser. They have been working together for a long time but, like water and oil, their characters do not mix. The film examines the underlying tensions between the two.
Awards: Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival (FIPRESCI Award) Chicago International Film Festival (Gold Hugo Award)

Purity
Dir: Anat Zuria (Israel, 2002, Israel, 65mins, DVD) Documentary
Breaking taboos of silence, Anat Zuria considers some of the ancient laws that still govern the sexuality of Jewish Orthodox women. While wanting to maintain their cultural traditions, some modern women struggle to balance their religious beliefs with the restricting laws and rituals.
Awards: SCAM (First Prize New Asian Currents Section) Biarritz (FIPA D?OR for Best Creative Documentary), Jerusalem International Film Festival (Best Documentary Film) One World Human Rights Film Festival (Best Director) Yamagata International Documentary Festival (Special Prize & Audience Award)

How I Killed My Father
Dir: Anne Fontaine (France, 2001, 95 mins, 35mm) Feature
A finely acted drama about the return of a long-disappeared father to the family home, and the discord that arises from his observation of what he finds. It is a compelling exploration of a father-son relationship, with taut dialogue and excellent performances.
Awards: Cesar Awards,France (Best Actor),Locarno International Film Festival(Golden Leopard nomination), Lumiere Awards, France (Best Actor).

*Program subject to change

Point of View, based in Mumbai, aims to promote the points of view of women through sustained and creative uses of media, art and culture. Point of View believes that women have a point of view on issues that affect them?however, this point of view is often ignored, dismissed or overlooked and Point of View endeavors to change that.

CREA, Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action, empowers women to articulate, demand and access their human rights by enhancing women?s leadership and focusing on issues of sexuality, reproductive health, violence against women, women?s rights and social justice. www.creaworld.org

The Federation of Film Societies of India was established in 1959, with world-famous filmmaker Satyajit Ray as President. The main objective of the FFSI is to spread the film society movement in the country and to create audiences for better cinema.