Women's Center Film Series: Fall 2011
Women’s Center Fall 2011 Film Series
September Film
“Cut from a Different Cloth: Burqas and Beliefs”
In 2005 filmmakers Cliff Orloff & Olga Shalygin returned to Afghanistan's northern city of Mazar-I-Sharif for the third time since the fall of the Taliban in 2002. The all-covering burqa, the high-walled living compounds and cultural restrictions on women limited their access. Olga, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, was puzzled why virtually all the Afghan women she saw still wore the burqa...even though security had greatly improved and a new constitution was adopted that granted women equal rights with men. Through Serena, a 27-year-old American woman, who is living with an Afghan family and their 27-year-old daughter Hasina, we are taken inside the walls that separate women from men. Serena becomes the eyes and ears of the filmmakers. Together, Serena, Hasina and Olga set out on a journey to learn what it means to be a woman in today's Afghanistan. Filmmaker: Olga Shalygin (2005)
Run time: 56 Minutes
Showtimes: 09/19 - 09/21; 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 09/22; 11:30, 12:30, 1:30, 2:30, 3:30, 09/23; 11:00
Film Discussion: 9/23; 12:00 – 1:00pm
(Facilitated by: Jill Scheibler of the Psychology Dept.)
October Film
“Maid in America”
Housekeeper. Nanny. Maid. Surrogate mother. Such are the many roles of las domésticas [domestic workers]—undocumented workers who came to America in search of a better life and found themselves scrubbing toilets and setting tables, working long hours for little pay in private homes. Most have no health insurance, no driver license, no pension and no recourse when it comes to employment injustices. They cook meals they could never afford, clean houses they could only dream of owning and care for strangers’ children when their own children are thousands of miles away. Deportation is a constant fear. And still they come to the United States by the thousands in hopes of a better life for themselves and their families.
MAID IN AMERICA is an intimate, eye-opening look at the lives of las domésticas, as seen through the eyes of Eva, Telma and Judith: three Latina immigrants, each with a very different story. Filmmakers: Anayansi Prado & Kevin Leadingham. (2006)
Run time: 58 Minutes
Showtimes: 10/17 - 10/19; 10:00, 11:00, 12:00, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:30 10/20; 11:30, 12:30,1:30, 2:30, 3:30 10/21; 11:00
Film Discussion: 10/21; 12:00-1:00pm
(Facilitated by: Dr. Sara Poggio of the Modern Languages & Linguistics Dept.)
November Film
“Lioness”
LIONESS tells the story of a group of female Army support soldiers who were part of the first program in American history to send women into direct ground combat. Without the same training as their male counterparts but with a commitment to serve as needed, these young women fought in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq war. Lioness makes public, for the first time, their hidden history. Told through the intimate accounts, journal excerpts, archival military commanders, the film follows five Lioness women who served together for a year in Iraq. Together the women’s candid narratives describing their experiences in Iraq and scenes from their lives back home form a portrait of the emotional and the psychological effects of war from a female point of view. Filmmakers: Meg McLagan & Daria Sommers. (2008)
Run time: 83 Minutes
Showtimes: 11/14– 11/16; 10:00, 11:30, 1:00, 2:30, 4:00 11/17; 1:00, 2:30, 4:00 11/18; 10:00
Film Discussion: 11/18; 12:00 pm
(Facilitated by: Dr. Denise Meringolo of the History Dept.)
December Film
“The Business of Being Born”
While the United States hasperhaps the most advanced health care system in the world, it also has the second-highest infant mortality rate of any industrialized nation, and many have begun to question conventional wisdom regarding the way obstetricians deal with childbirth. While midwives preside over the majority of births in Europe and Japan, fewer than ten percent of American mothers employ them, despite their proven record of care and success. How do American doctors make their choices regarding the way their patients give birth, and who is intended to benefit? Director Abby Epstein and producer Ricki Lake offer a probing look at childbirth in America in the documentary THE BUSINESS OF BEING BORN, which explores the history of obstetrics, the history and function of Midwives, and how many common medical practices may be doing new mothers more harm than good. Filmmakers: Alby Epstein & Ricki Lake. (2008)
Run time: 87 Minutes
Showtimes: 12/05– 12/08; 10:00, 11:30, 1:00, 2:30, 4:00 12/09; 10:00
Film Discussion: 12/09; 12:00-1:00pm
(Facilitated: by Dr. Jessica Guzmán-Rea, adjunct faculty of Social Work Dept.)
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