(above) A scene from Deluge, to be shown March 26, 5 p,m, in the Paul Robeson Campus Center
Free Screenings March 24 – April 1
Women in Media-Newark will hold its sixth annual International Film Festival March 24 – April 1 in celebration of Women’s History Month. The winner of the international Imaging Women: Respect cell phone video contest for youth will be announced during the festival.
“Each year our Festival presents an amazing array of independent films from around the world that celebrate the indomitable spirit of women. This year, we’ve selected the theme And Still I Rise and our focus will be on “disappeared” women,” said Pamela Morgan, Executive Director and founder of the Festival. “We’re delighted with the quality and the breadth of the films that will be screened this year. As always, we are impressed with the talent and expertise of the filmmakers who take part in the Festival.” She continues, “Rutgers support is critical to our ability to produce this important Women’s History Month Film Festival.”
The Festival, which originally started as a one day festival, was identified as being a valuable component to the life of the university during its first year by Vice Chancellor Marcia Brown, and has been incubated at Rutgers since that time. With support from Rutgers Assistant Chancellor Diane Hill at the Office of University-Community Partnerships, The Center for African Studies, and the GAIA Center the festival has grown in length and in impact. This year’s festival will screen twenty three films from more than one dozen international cultures, all focused on telling stories that uplift the status of women.
In addition to the eight day film festival, Women In Media- will host a Master Class in Film Production with award winning film maker Mynette Louie on March 30th in conjunction with Professor Kimi Takesue’s film making class.
Other highlights of the Festival include a screening of Cuban director Gloria Rolando’s film Reembarque/Reshipment with Emmy Award winning artist Wyclef Jean and his wife Claudinette participating in the discussion following the screening; hosted by the Program of Women and Gender Studies, a screening of the 1971 vintage film “Janie’s Janie,” one of the first films of the feminist movement; a jazz concert featuring pianist Geri Allen’s Trio and the Mimi Jones Fantastic Four with special guest Tia Fuller; a screening of The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo, which chronicles the life of the famed Ghanian writer; a panel discussion on human featuring NJ Asst. Attorney General Tracey Thompson, Essex County Asst. Prosecutor Kelly Sandler, FBI Victim Specialist Keyla Munoz, and Zonta International’s United Nations representative specializing in human trafficking Pat Latona; a screening of the Israeli film Where is Elle-Kari and What Happened to Noriko-san? director, Dvorit Sharkal to be in attendance; and screenings of Mercedes Gaspar’s Escapes/Huidas (Spain) and Sophia Turkiewicz’s Once My Mother (Poland/Australia), in conjunction with the inaugural exhibition of the Dana Library’s Holocaust Digital Print Collection by the late Carol Rosen, and hosting by the Newark Women’s Conference on March 26th.
Morgan said the achievements of several accomplished women also will be celebrated during the Festival. Those honored are: Dr. Diane Hill, Assistant Chancellor at Rutgers University-Newark; Gwen Moten, Executive Director, The Mayor’s Office of Arts, Cultural Development and Tourism for Newark; Ousseina Alidou, Ph.D., internationally renowned author, public speaker and former director, Center for African Studies, Rutgers; Donna Walker-Kuhne, Vice President , Community Engagement, New Jersey Performing Arts Center; Susan MacLaury, producer, Executive Director of the non-profit film production company Shine Global; and New Jersey Assistant Attorney General Tracey Thompson, Esq., who specializes in human trafficking.
Other Festival activities will include interviews with filmmakers, panel discussions, vendors and a Silent Auction. In addition, Fertile Soil, an art exhibit curated by Gladys Barker Grauer that features the works of four local women artists at Paul Robeson Student Center at Rutgers University-Newark has been scheduled to coincide with the eight-day Film Festival.
About Women In Media-Newark:
Women In Media – Newark is an organization that advocates for and educates the public about issues affecting the lives of women using film, video and new media as our platform. Merging culture and academia, we rally behind our sisters who courageously struggle to assume leadership roles in the film industry with their conscious effort to present a balanced image of women, dispelling the stereotypes and changing public perception of their sisters worldwide.
Co-sponsors of the Women In Media-Newark film series include the Rutgers University Newark Office of University-Community Partnerships/Office of the Chancellor, Rutgers Center for African Studies, the Dana Library, Program of Women and Gender Studies, and Rutgers GAIA Center, in partnership with the East Orange Public Library, the West Orange Public Library; Aljira, a Center for Contemporary Art; and the Ironbound Community Corporation.
The film festival is free and open to the public although donations are welcome. More information can be found at our website at www.WIM-N.com or you may call 973-996-8342 or email info@wim-n.com.
Schedule
Visit www.wim-n.com for more information
Tuesday, March 24, 5pm –Aljira, A Center for Contemporary Art, 591 Broad Street, Newark, NJ 07102
Shorts: My Family
Featured short: Geri Ashur’s Janie’s Janie (USA) – Panel discussion to follow
Wednesday, March 25, 5pm – East Orange Public Library, 21 South Arlington Ave., East Orange, NJ
Short: Just The Three of Us; See Me Now
Featuring: Gloria Rolando’s Reembarque/Reshipment (Cuba) – Discussion to follow moderated by Ben Jones – Special Guests: Wyclef Jean and Claudinette Jean, his wife
Thursday, March 26, 5pm –Paul Robeson Student Center, Rutgers University-Newark, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., Newark, NJ
Hosted by Newark Women’s Conference
Honoring: Diane Hill, Ph.D., Assistant Chancellor at Rutgers University-Newark; Gwen Moten, Executive Director, The Mayor’s Office of Arts, Cultural Development and Tourism, Newark, NJ;
Featuring: Film Shorts
Shorts: Deluge, Amnesty(Film maker in attendance), Like Other Girls Do
Jazz Concert by Geri Allen Trio and Mimi Jones Fantastic Four with Special Guest Tia Fuller
Friday, March 27, 5pm –Paul Robeson Student Center, Rutgers University-Newark, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., Newark, NJ
Honoring: Ousseina Alidou, Ph.D., former director, Center for African Studies, Rutgers;
Donna Walker-Kuhne, Vice President , Community Engagement, New Jersey Performing Arts Center
Shorts: Red; Afronauts
Featuring: Yaba Badoe’s The Art of Ama Ata Aidoo (UK/Ghana) – Discussion to follow
Saturday, March 28, 12noon –Paul Robeson Student Center, Rutgers University-Newark, 350 Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., Newark, NJ
Honoring: Susan MacLaury, Producer, Executive Director of the non-profit film production company Shine Global; New Jersey Assistant Attorney General Tracey Thompson, Esq., specializing in human trafficking
Shorts: Not Anymore; Yeungyeum; Daughter of Fortune; Featuring: Paola Costa’s Finish Line (Spain), and Robert Bilheimer’s Not My Life (USA)
Monday, March 30, 5pm –West Orange Public Library, 46 Mount Pleasant Avenue, West Orange, NJ
Short: What We See
Featuring: Dvorit Sharkal’s Where is Elle-Kari and What Happened to Noriko-san? (Israel) – Film maker in attendance
Tuesday, March 31, 5pm -– East Orange Public Library, 21 South Arlington Ave., East Orange, NJ
Shorts: Border Witches; Jamaica T. Jones
Featuring: Mercedes Gaspar’s Huidas/Escapes (Spain)
Wednesday, April 1, 5pm – Dana Room, Dana Library, Rutgers University-Newark, 185 University Avenue, Newark, NJ |
