International Women‘s Day Film Festival

by Progressive Film Club Thu Mar 05, 2009 11:10

For the latest information visit www.progressivefilmclub.ie.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY FILM FESTIVAL

Sunday 8 March 2009

To mark International Women’s Day, the Progressive Film Club will be
showing a number of films made by and about women, beginning at 11 a.m.
and continuing all day.

ADMISSION FREE

11 a.m.

Olga Benario: A Life for the Revolution (2004)

Written and directed by Galip İyitanır. A dramatised documentary about
the life of Olga Benario Prestes, a young German anti-fascist. After
being arrested in Berlin for “preparations for high treason” she fled to
Moscow, where she trained as an underground agent. She then travelled to
Brazil, where she helped to organise what was hoped to be an uprising
against the Brazilian fascist government. In German, with English
sub-titles. Running time: 145 minutes.
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For the latest information visit www.progressivefilmclub.ie.

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY FILM FESTIVAL

Sunday 8 March 2009

To mark International Women’s Day, the Progressive Film Club will be
showing a number of films made by and about women, beginning at 11 a.m.
and continuing all day.

ADMISSION FREE

11 a.m.

Olga Benario: A Life for the Revolution (2004)

Written and directed by Galip İyitanır. A dramatised documentary about
the life of Olga Benario Prestes, a young German anti-fascist. After
being arrested in Berlin for “preparations for high treason” she fled to
Moscow, where she trained as an underground agent. She then travelled to
Brazil, where she helped to organise what was hoped to be an uprising
against the Brazilian fascist government. In German, with English
sub-titles. Running time: 145 minutes.

2 p.m.

Women with Balls (2005)

A community-made film. Fatima Mansions were traditionally portrayed as a
community stigmatised by drug abuse and crime. The women of Rialto
History Group wanted to tell their own stories, showing a different past
and at the same time giving an honest appraisal of their lives. They
wanted to explore their own culture, especially the humorous rivalry
between the two communities of Dolphin’s Barn and Fatima Mansions.
Making this film was an opportunity to explore how a community can
recover from exclusion by telling its own story in a creative way.
Running time: 30 minutes.

---------- Also ----------

Making History in Fatima (2006)

Directed by Paula Geraghty. Making History in Fatima is a compelling
documentary that explores some of the motivations behind the making of
the film Women with Balls. It charts the women’s experience in their own
words and in an engaging and sensitive manner. Running time: 30 minutes.

---------- Also ----------

Mosquito Bites (2005)

Written and directed by Treasa O’Brien. Consumer culture, corporate
policing and the privatisation of public space are explored in this
short film about the “mosquito,” a device that emits an extremely
irritating sound at a frequency that most older people cannot hear. Two
of these devices have been installed by the owners of Paul Street
Shopping Centre in Cork to deter teenagers from gathering in Rory
Gallagher Square. Running time: 15 minutes.

3:45 p.m.

Malkia wa Soka Zanzibar [Zanzibar Soccer Queens] (2007)

Directed by Florence Ayisi (who also made Sisters in Law, presented by
the Progressive Film Club last year). The story of a group of
strong-willed young women who are determined to better their lives and
to define new identities through playing football. Despite opposition
and limited facilities, they succeed in playing the game they love. The
film presents personal stories of aspirations, shattered dreams,
self-determination, friendship and confidence gained from playing
football. In Swahili, with English subtitles. Running time: 90 minutes.

5:30 p.m.

The Future of Feminism (2007)

Directed by Cara Holmes. The Future of Feminism is an introduction to
the concepts of feminism, how people perceive feminism today, and why it
is essential that feminism continue to exist in our consumerist
societies. The film was shot in Dublin, Belfast, Copenhagen, and Berlin.
The director says that the intention was to keep the film short and to
simply portray feminism in a positive light. Running time: 35 minutes.

---------- Also ----------

Hablemos del Poder [Talking of Power] (2005)

Sex, race and class in revolutionary Venezuela. From the hills of
Caracas to the banks of the Orinoco, grass-roots women’s groups tell how
they are changing our world. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running
time: 65 minutes.

7 p.m.

Schwarzer Kanal (2007)

Directed by Cara Holmes. The Schwarzer Kanal is a space on the bank of
the River Spree in Berlin where people traditionally pull up in caravans
and live there for however long they want and in the way that they want.
However, the site is under constant threat from a gentrification process
that threatens to “clean up” such sites in order to build apartment
blocks and offices—nowadays mostly empty! Running time: 15 minutes.

---------- Also ----------

Malkia wa Soka Zanzibar [Zanzibar Soccer Queens] (2007)

A second chance to see this inspiring film, shown earlier.