A big heads-up to all you creative women working in film:
Jen Wechsler, the managing director of POWFest, reached out to me (quite a while back, admittedly) to share the news that the annual Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival is accepting submissions for their 2013 outing.
Here's what Jen wanted to convey to any and all interested parties:
The Portland Oregon Women’s Film Festival (a.k.a. POWFest) is now accepting entries for its sixth annual festival scheduled to take place March 7 - 10, 2013. The regular deadline for entries is Friday, August 17, 2012. POWFest showcases the art and cinematic contribution of women directors from around the world and seeks to present films that have been directed or co-directed by women; of any length, style, or genre.
Deadlines & Fees Early Bird Deadline: Postmarked by June 20, 2012 ~ $20
Regular Deadline: Postmarked by Friday August 17, 2012 ~ $30
Late Deadline: Postmarked by Friday September 14, 2012 ~ $35 WAB
Extended Deadline: Postmarked by Friday October 5, 2012 ~ $45
POWFest comes to a close on Sunday evening with a classic screening of Nora Ephron's 1993 hit Sleepless in Seattle; a quasi-remake of Leo McCarey's (Make Way for Tomorrow) An Affair to Remember. Before that final film runs, there's still several films remaining on Sunday's schedule, including a triad of documentaries on athletes (and, yes, I consider dancers to be athletes--don't you?), most of whom are female.
A still from The 90th Minute
Jun Stinson's short documentary about Women's Professional Soccer (WPS), The 90th Minute, focuses on a Bay Area team, FC Gold Pride. Despite having won the WPS championship in the 2010 season, the team finds themselves on the verge of folding due a lack of funding.
The 90th Minute is only partly concerned with the fate of FC Gold Pride, though. Much of the film is devoted to dialogue on how few opportunities there are for women athletes to compete in professional arena. Stinson traces how the progressive, gender equality provisions of Title IX paved the way for women to play sports in high schools and colleges, eventually leading to the establishment of professional leagues.
It's a solid piece that makes a strong case for the necessity of institutions like WPS; an interview with a mother who feels her daughter has a much wider range of role models to choose from post-exposure to FC Gold Pride is particularly moving.
A still from Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet
Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet is, to be blunt, not a film for newcomers to dance or films on the subject. Having recently seen Pina; a film where absolutely no prior study of dance was necessary to have a deep connection with it, I did hope that Susan Hess Logeals' piece would similarly hook the neophyte as well as those who live and breathe their enthusiasm for balletic form. I may have simply been asking too much of the film.
A still from Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet
What I do know, despite my lack of knowledge on ballet, is that Nerves of Steel comes off more like an advertisement for Portland Ballet than a film about it. For instance, there's a seven-plus minute sequence where Portland Ballet's Nancy Davis and Jim Lane rattle off an inordinately long list of faculty names, flatly describing the talents of each instructor and what it is they provide to their students.
Part of the problem is that the film devotes almost all of its weight to the perspective of the administrators and faculty. Other than a short chunk devoted to asking the kids how long they've been dancing, we're kept at a distance from the very people who embody the subject of the film.
A still from The Eight Parallel
Without a doubt, the most beautiful looking film I've seen at POWFest this year is Darcy Turenne'sThe Eighth Parallel. With a running time of under thirty minutes, the film is jam-packed with one impressive image after another, never letting up until the final credits roll. The biggest shock: Turenne shot, directed and edited the film without the aid of a crew. This is her debut film; I already want to see more from her.
A still from The Eight Parallel
I'm not usually a fan of films that fall into the extreme sports genre. But The Eighth Parallel plays by a different set of rules than most movies within that category. The film treks through Indonesia in search of women stepping outside of traditional female roles and into the world of extreme athleticism. Turenne compartmentalizes the work into vignettes highlighting each of her interview subjects, inserting sociological and philosophical context between those sections via writings sourced from academic journals.
A still from The Eight Parallel
The Eighth Parallel is a film that succeeds on so many levels. The images, pacing and stories are all combined with a strong sense of purpose. And the aforementioned academic input elevates the work into the territories of the inspirational. If I had a daughter, I'd want her to see The Eighth Parallel.
Festival passes can be acquired at this link and tickets for individual screenings can be purchased here.
The 90th Minute, Nerves of Steel: A Year With the Portland Ballet & The Eighth Parallel will screen together atPOWFest on Sun., March 11th at 3pm at the Hollywood Theatre.
POWFest 2012 serves up a double bill of documentaries on fertility-related issues for its Saturday (3/10) afternoon screenings. One film, Angel for Hire, takes more of a historical perspective on its topic, adding perspective and focus to a story being told in the present, while the other, Ei Voor Later (Eggs for Later), is more in the mold of Ross McElwee (Sherman's March) piece; a personal story told by its filmmaker, overflowing with charm and easy identification.
A still from Ei Voor Later
Ei Voor Later (Eggs for Later) picks up just as its director/subject Marieke Schellart is about to celebrate her 36th birthday. She candidly addresses the camera about her growing anxiety as a woman who wants children but hasn't yet found herself in a situation that has produced them. Schellart allows us to tag along with her as she investigates having her eggs medically frozen, granting her options for conception beyond her natural window of opportunity.
A still from Ei Voor Later
Unlike in the U.S., the scientific community of the Netherlands, where Schellart lives, is only beginning to come to grips with the technology and social implications of the procedure. As such, Ei Voor Later becomes just as much involved in discourse around these issues as it is about one woman's journey. The most entertaining moments in the film center around the debate as it occurs in Schellart's own circle of family and friends. Ei Voor Later is a fun and involving take on a subject that might have been dry and impersonal in less capable hands.
A still from Angel for Hire
Mary Flynn and Nina Goodby'sAngel for Hire
locates its dramatic arc in the story of one woman's fears that her
surrogacy contract with an infertile couple may force her to have a
cesarean section, due to complications with the pregnancy. The film
intercuts its primary tale with the background of Noel Keane, a lawyer who in the mid-70s became a pioneer in surrogacy practice.
A still from Angel for Hire
Keane's story adds a necessary historical layer to the film that enriches the
entire piece. And, even though the presentation of Angel's present-day application of
Keane's work is impressive, I couldn't help but wish that the film had spent even more time on chronicling the struggles of the past, such as the story of Baby M. As it stands, Angel for Hire shifts from a very good documentary to completely absorbing one each time it delves into the history of its topic.
Regardless of what your political views are on the military and military service, there are two must-see documentaries dealing with women in the military at POWFest this year.
First up is The Silent Truth; a look at the death of LaVena Johnson, a young female soldier whose demise while serving in Iraq was ruled a suicide by the U.S. Army. Director Joan Brooker-Marks (Larry Flynt: The Right to Be Left Alone) gives Johnson's father and mother, John and Linda Johnson, the opportunity to tell the story of their struggle to get to the bottom of what they feel are a suspicious set of circumstances surrounding their daughter's death; their own investigation leading them to a horrifying truth about systemic mistreatment of women in combat situations.
A still from The Silent Truth
Brooker-Marks was clearly operating on a relatively small budget here
but, very much to her credit, she's quite well-versed in laying out a
compelling story, regardless of any economic restraints. Her technique here
includes the use of rough but very effective animation, emotionally
compelling interviews with the Johnson family and the film's military
consultant Colonel Ann Wright, and a well-rounded argument aided by ample research. The Silent Truth is a heartbreaking documentary of great importance and it needs to be viewed by as many people as possible.
A still from The Silent Truth
A still from Sisters in Arms
Beth Freeman'sSisters in Arms explores the participation of women in combat situations via the stories of three Canadian soldiers. The documentary doesn't spend any time quibbling over the issue of these women's right to be in combat. Instead, the film proves the worthiness of its subjects through a balanced examination of their domestic and occupational lives, peppering in an appropriate amount of context related to the history of women in the Canadian army. It's a very successful piece that reveals much about the kind of women rarely seen in film. What more could you ask for from a documentary?
POWFest (Portland Oregon Women's Film Festival) 2012 hits the ground running on this coming Thursday with a night of short films produced by local artists. The presentation underscores the festival's ongoing commitment to Portland talent. Even as they've tapped notable guests from without (for instance), POWFest has always strongly reflected and honored women's contributions in the local film community and this year's edition is no exception.
Highlights include:
Not To Be Taken, directed by Emily Setzer
A pensively-pitched drama that takes place across two time periods, featuring an outstanding performance by Patricia Zapp as a woman haunted by past events.
A still from Emily Setzer's Not To Be Taken
The Lost Van Gogh, directed by Jessica Lyness
A whimsical piece centered around the provenance of a neglected artwork, smartly captured entirely from the painting's POV.
A still from Jessica Lyness' The Lost Van Gogh
Stella's Flight, directed by Courtenay Hameister
A very funny film about ennui and what it takes for one women to break out of the cycle of chronic boredom.
A still from Courtenay Hameister's Stella's Flight
CPR, directed by Kimberly Warner
My favorite of the bunch, drawing dual inspiration from the visual aesthetic of Mad Men and the narrative sensibilities of The Twilight Zone. Cinematographer Gary Nolton's impressive images leap off the screen.
A still from Kimberly Warner's CPR
Festival passes can be acquired at this link and tickets for individual screenings can be purchased here.
