Feminists’ Night at the Movies
8:00 PM - 10:00 PM
Location: Palmer House, Room: Chicago Room
Featuring three films from the Women Make Movies catalog:
Women’s Kingdom: a film by Xiaoli Zhou and produced by Xiaoli Zhou & Brent E. Huffman. With breathtaking imagery shot in a remote area of southwest China, this short documentary offers a rare glimpse into Mosuo culture, one of the last matriarchal societies in the world, virtually unheard of until 10 years ago. Mosuo women enjoy great freedoms and carry great responsibilities. As the outside world encroaches, bringing 21st century conveniences, tourism, pollution, and mainstream ideas about femininity, these extraordinary women must meet complex new challenges to preserve their extraordinary culture.
Guerillas in Our Midst: a film by Amy Harrison. Through interviews and art-world footage, this film presents a savvy exploration of the machinations of the commercial art-world during its boom in the 1980s, and brings the Guerrilla Girls to the screen. This anonymous group of art terrorists has succeeded in putting racism and sexism on the agenda in the art-world since 1985, and their witty and creative tactics have changed the face of political and cultural activism.
To See If I’m Smiling (Lir’ot Im Ani Mehayechet): a film by Tamar Yarom. In this award-winning documentary, the frank testimonials of six female Israeli soldiers stationed in Gaza and the West Bank pack a powerful emotional punch. The young women revisit their tours of duty with surprising honesty and strip bare the stereotypes of gender differences in the military. With archival footage, personal material, and compelling testimonies, the documentary explores the ways that gender, ethics, and moral responsibility intersect during wartime.