Othered Voices
The Feminist Film Festival is set to take place this year from November 18th-20th at The New Theatre in Dublin. Over the course of the weekend, there will be screenings of films that promote the representation of women both in front of and behind the camera, and panel discussions that will examine key issues in feminism and how they emerge in cinema. Tickets are priced at 10 euro per screening and all profits go towards Sasane, a charity that supports victims of human trafficking in Nepal. I spoke to Karla Healion, the festival’s director:
How many are expected to attend the festival this year?
We’re still a small event, it is all a fund raiser for a brilliant charity in Nepal called Sasane. All profits go to Sasane, so we really appreciate every ticket that is sold. We hope to see about 500 people over the course of the weekend. The intimate setting means that the atmosphere is always great and we can all go for a pint afterwards!
How did you choose the selection of films being screened over the weekend?
We wanted to direct the programme and facilitate discussion, or provoke ideas around female agency, or feminist cultural production, so first of all we decided on the theme of ‘Othered Voices: The Female Voice on Screen’. Something in the film had to deal with the female voice, from a literal or figurative perspective, and the films have to foster voices that are not usually heard, such as women in the case of The Piano, or minority groups, such as Amaka’s Kin about women filmmakers in Nigeria, or LGBTQ perspectives, like in the case of Margarita with a Straw, etc.
It is crucial that feminist events provide a platform for all who have experienced oppression, or the stifling effect of white patriarchy. In addition to that, all the films must be directed by women. Of course, once you have a long list that fit those criteria, the most difficult part is making sure the films gel as a programme, and also trying to find a short film to go with each of the features. It takes a lot of reviewing, talking, consideration, reading, more viewing, more talking. You just have to chip away until it sits together.
On Friday, Mother Ireland, a fascinating documentary on women in Ireland, will be shown. Was it important to include an Irish film as part of the festival?
It is important for us to support Irish female filmmakers. Last year we screened Bernadette, a documentary about Bernadette Devlin, and we had director Lelia Doolan join us for a discussion. This year Mother Ireland represents the voice of Irish women, the consideration of republicanism and historical feminism. Irish voices are, of course, vital to the feminist movement here. The film we’re pairing with Mother Ireland is The Sea Between Us, another Irish film dealing with situations of migration and belonging, a topical and important issue to screen right now, we think.
Laura Mulvey used the term ‘the male gaze’ in 1975 to describe how the depiction of women in visual arts is constructed entirely from a masculine perspective. Do you think that this problem is still a contentious one, or is contemporary cinema overcoming it?
The male gaze will continue to be a relevant notion as long as gender equality is not a reality. In a very real sense, women are still unequal in this country. For example, women still don’t have control over their own bodies or have access to a full range of healthcare, which is awful and will hopefully change soon. And this kind of very real inequality seeps into cultural practice, and visual culture. The vast majority of filmmakers (directors/producers/writers etc) are men, so the assumption of a male audience will prevail until we put more women in positions of cultural production and in high-level roles.
In an infographic released by Slated Magazine last year, it was shown that only 8.8% of films released in 2015 were directed by women and less than 30% featured a lead female actor. How do we overcome this?
Well, the statistics and underrepresentation of women in the film industry are the reason we run the festival, there is a long way to go! It is definitely the same reason why women are underrepresented in many other areas such as politics, sports, business management etc. It’s because women are socialised to not do things that men are socialised to do. If you can see someone as a role model, that you can aspire to, you can imagine yourself doing it too. This is why it is vital to support women’s voices, women on-screen and women as producers of media. I think the industry is changing slowly but surely, just like the rest of the world.
And are there any women in the film industry that you particularly admire?
There are amazing women working behind the scenes, or behind the camera, and it is important to recognise that. Just in Ireland, I’m thinking of Alice Butler, Grainne Humphreys, Nicky Gogan, Jesse Jones, Dearbhla Glynn, Cara Holmes, Aoife Kelleher… it’s so cool, there are loads! And I think there are great efforts to include and promote feminist film within loads of festival strands, which is just brilliant. But it will never be enough until equality has been achieved, so we need to keep pushing and creating spaces where women are celebrated and supported.
Are there any films/events taking place during the festival that you are particularly excited for ticket holders to see?
On Friday we are showing The Piano (1993), Jane Campion’s depiction of a mute woman’s arranged marriage in mid-19th century New Zealand. On Sunday visitors can see Turkish-French director Deniz Gamze Ergüven’s multi-award winning ‘feminist escape movie’ Mustang (2015).
I think the panel discussions we have hosted in previous years have been fantastic. Participants in the past have included iconic filmmakers like Vivienne Dick, so they are really inspiring and interesting events. This year, we close on the evening of Sunday 20th with a discussion about women in the industry. I also love our free talks, so for me and the rest of the FFF team these are the best parts of the weekend, just because we’ve all usually seen the films a million times by the time the Festival comes around! We have a brilliant free talk on Saturday Nov 19th at 5.30pm on the female voice in cinema by Dr. Jennifer O’Meara. Check out our programme on social media for more info!
Visit www.feministfilmfestivaldublin.com for a full programme and ticket information.
