Click
here for a live performance by artist Kinga Araya on Wednesday,
February 28
Thursday,
March 1 - Saturday, March 3
A
Liberated Cinema: Feminism and Beyond
 The
collision of political activism, gender identity and artistic
freedom in the 1970s spawned the first generation of feminist
filmmakers. With a bold assertion of sexual power and an attack
on the limited social roles of women, their radical approach
would influence artists throughout the following decades. Deconstructing
all-too-familiar cinematic cliches, these films offered a distinctly
different vision of Western society. International House has
selected a handful of rarely screened films that best illustrate
the power of feminist art in cinema. Incorporating elements
of long established film genres like film noir, in the case
of Bette Gordon’s Variety or science fiction, as in
both Valie Export’s Invisible Adversaries and Lizzie
Borden’s Born in Flames, the films in this series
are the most provocative of the era.
Thursday,
March 1 at 7pm
Plumb
Line
dir.
Carolee Schneeman, USA, 1968-72, 16mm, 15 mins, color
Disintegration
from within, disintegration from without, this film is a frighteningly
personal vision of love and loss.
followed
by
Invisible
Adversaries
dir.
Valie Export, Austria, 1977, 16mm, 112 mins, color, German w/
English subtitles
 Breaking
free of conventional unities of body, space and time, this early
feature by one of Europe's leading feminist filmmakers is a
haunting excursion into psychic disintegration and crumbling
identity. It loosely covers one year in the life of Anna, a
young Viennese photographer increasingly convinced that the
Hyksos, a hostile alien force, are invading people's bodies
and responsible for the decay and rising violence around her.
Valie Export skillfully exploits montage and integrates video,
performance and installation art with elements from Cubism,
Surrealism, Dada and avant-garde cinema.
Friday,
March 2 at 7pm
Number
Two (Numero Deux)
dir.
Jean-Luc Godard, France/Switzerland, 1975, 35mm, 88 mins, color,
French w/ English subtitles
 Claiming
the film to be a “remake” of his debut feature film Breathless,
Godard’s Numero Deux is a far more complicated outing
than any of his previous works.
Co-written
with his wife, Anne-Marie Meiville, the film dissects a family
relationship from just about every angle. In addition to the
familiar “Godardian” themes of class, violence and politics,
the film looks at the various sexual and emotional issues that
confront a married couple. The unique use of video and television
monitors serves to reinforce the deconstructive approach to
the characters inner and outer lives.
Saturday,
March 3 at 6pm
The
Color of Love
dir.
Peggy Ahwesh, USA, 1994, 16mm, 10 mins, color
An
optical reprint of a 1970s porn film is slowed down highlighting
the wear and tear of decades of neglect.
followed
by
Variety
dir.
Bette Gordon, USA, 1984, 35mm, 97 mins, color
The
sexually-charged tale of a woman's journey of self-discovery,
Bette Gordon's Variety is a fascinating independent
film that challenges common notions about feminism and pornography.
Christine
(Sandy McLeod), a bright and unassuming young woman, takes a
job selling tickets at an adult theater near Times Square. Instead
of distancing herself from the dark and erotic nature of this
milieu, Christine soon discovers a curiosity that begins to
consume her life. The character's reaction unexpectedly flips
the gender roles; director Gordon daringly twists feminist ideology
by showing a woman who finds self-expression through an interest
in pornography. Variety becomes even more provocative
when it dramatizes the changes that occur in Christine's relationships
with both Mark (Will Patton), her boyfriend, and Louie, a possibly
dangerous patron of the theater.
Saturday,
March 3 at 8:30pm
Born
in Flames
dir.
Lizzie Borden, USA, 1983, 35mm, 90 mins, color
 Directed
by Lizzie Borden (Working Girls), feminist classic
Born in Flames is the futuristic tale of the turmoil
that still brews years after a "peaceful" social revolution.
Thwarted by a system which rejects its minorities, a group of
women band together in an effort to gain control of the state
owned media. With humor and style, the film combines the many
cadences of the women's movement – militant, moderate, hip hop
rap, punk cool - to suggest the possibility of a unified voice.
|
