Wanda Feminism and Moving Image

BELFAST FILM FESTIVAL SUPPORTS

k k Belfast Film Festival

WANDA FEMINISM AND MOVING IMAGE

WANDA

T S A LF

H E T B H-12 Y Agnès Varda directing La Pointe courte (1955)

9T RUAR B E F

Hello and welcome to WANDA: Feminism and Moving Image!

We are so excited to bring you this programme of films and events celebrating the deep connection between feminism and moving image. Feminist film has an influential and rich history, and WANDA celebrates both new and classic films, bringing discussions, events and screenings to an audience here in Belfast.

Out of the classic works in the programme, Chantal Akerman’s existential masterpiece, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080, Bruxelles at QFT will be a major highlight. Similarly, Lizzie Borden’s important 1983 film Born in Flames at the Oh Yeah Centre. Both films still resonate strongly with women today and continue to inspire younger filmmakers.

Film as activism is a central theme of the programme. Women in Ireland do not have the same reproductive rights as women in the UK and elsewhere. We have chosen films - not least our closing film Trapped by award-winning documentarian Dawn Porter - that reflect the various movements and experiences shared inter-generationally throughout Ireland and in other parts of the world.

Another highlight of the programme is a screening of new short films. By directors from Ireland, Turkey, and Somalia they range from documentary to experimental. These films are radical, personal and universal and we strongly encourage you to experience them.

In addition, there will be a screening of Pat Murphy’s Maeve preceded by a talk from Anne Crilly and Margo Harkin, members of the Derry Film and Video Collective; a panel discussion on activist film; a workshop on filmmaking with Treasa O’Brien; a Pro-Choice Dirty Dancing Live Read; a karaoke night and more!

We really hope you enjoy the first edition of WANDA. Thank you for your support and see you at the events!

Lots of love, Rose Baker and Laura O’Connor WANDA

FOR TICKETS AND INFO: www.wandabelfast.com www.facebook.com/wandabelfast @wandabelfast #wandabelfast 02

OPENING NIGHT FILM

WANDA

BARBARA LODEN | USA | 1970 | 102 MIN

9TH FEB | STRAND ARTS CENTRE | 8PM | £4 (+1.50 CART FEE)

Opening a weekend of feminist film is the independent cinema classic, Wanda. Directed by (and written by and starring) Barbara Loden, the film follows Wanda as she drifts on the periphery of society. Criticised by some at the time for being un-feminist, Wanda depicts a woman’s lack of agency and the pitfalls in life outside the accepted role in a patriarchal and capitalist world. “Wanda’s utterly guileless indifference has the feeling of an adamant integrity; her total acceptance is rather a total defiance of the norms of society that exclude her from it.” Richard Brody, The New Yorker.

We regard this film so highly we named our whole event after it! And it sets the tone for a weekend of engaging and innovative films directed by women .

There will be a drinks reception in the foyer from 7.30pm.

CLOSING NIGHT FILM

TRAPPED

DAWN PORTER | 2016 | USA | 90 MINS

12TH FEB | QFT | 4PM | £5

Following the lives of abortion health care providers in the southern United States, Trapped reveals the ways in which recent legislation changes at best encroach on health workers’ ability to care for patients and at worst lead to the closure of clinics. Award-winning, director Dawn Porter embarked on the project when she heard the state of Mississippi had only one such clinic left, and along the way found many warm and courageous health workers who feature in the film.

The closing event will include the Irish and UK premiere of short documentary Our Right To Choose directed by Hanan Dirya who will attend the screening.

We warmly invite everyone to join us for a drink in the QFT bar after the film.

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FEATURE FILMS

BORN IN FLAMES

RIDDLES OF THE SPHINX

10TH FEB | OH YEAH CENTRE | 8PM | £5

11TH FEB | BEANBAG CINEMA | 6PM | £5

WANDA is excited to screen this independent film from Lizzie Borden.

Borden shot the film over five years in New York City. The film includes cameos from Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow, Pat Murphy whose film Maeve is also included in our programme and civil rights activist and radical feminist Flo Kennedy. Bringing together familiar elements like everyday sexism, constant media coverage and activism, and all the while representing intersectional feminism in a radically normalised way, this film is as right on now as it was in 1985.

Laura Mulvey is most well-known for her seminal essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative Cinema which challenges Hollywood cinema’s positioning of woman as object of male visual pleasure. In Riddles of the Sphinx directed with Peter Wollen they further explore conventions of mainstream cinema and use avant garde techniques to break these conventions. The film explores different methods of framing the female subject, such as 360 pans and breaking the 4th wall, where the realtionship between viewer and subject moves away from traditional narratives.

LIZZIE BORDEN | USA | 1983 | 80MIN

LAURA MULVEY & PETER WOLLEN | UK | 1977 | 92MIN

This screening will include the short documentary Idomeni/The Border by Caoimhe Butterly who will attend the screening.

JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES

MAEVE

PAT MURPHY & JOHN DAVIES | IRELAND & UK | 1982 | 115 MIN

12TH FEB | BLACKBOX | 1PM | £5

CHANTAL AKERMAN | BELGIUM | 1975 | 201 MIN

Set in Belfast during the Troubles, protagonist Maeve (Mary Jackson) comes home from London for a visit where she encounters characters from her past such as her ex-boyfriend Liam (John Keegan) and her sister Roisin(Brid Brennan). Asking questions about feminism, nationalism and the place of women in the Troubles, Pat Murphy’s debut feature film shifts between time-frames and story lines challenging the viewer to stitch the story together and avoiding the conventions of mainstream filmmaking.

11TH FEB | QFT | 2.10PM | £5/£4 CONC. WANDA is thrilled to present a hugely important work from the feminist film canon, directed by Chantal Akerman. Starring Delphine Seyrig, the film follows the daily routine of widowed Jeanne as she cares for her grown-up son, does household chores and receives clients in the afternoon. The film was met with great critical success on its debut at the Cannes Film Festival in 1975, and propelled Akerman into a filmmaking career that would last until her sudden death in 2015.

This screening could not be possible without the support of the Irish Film Institute and Archive who supplied the film.

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SHORTS PROGRAMME

BEANBAG CINEMA | SATURDAY 11TH | 1.30PM | £4 NOOR AT MYTILINI PORT TREASA O’BRIEN | 2016 | UK | 6 MIN

A six minute documentary made on an iPhone. Noor has travelled from Syria to Greece. She interviews other women at the port about their experience.

CHASING THE BIRDS

NIAMH MCKENNA | 2016 | IRELAND |11.26 MIN

Chasing the Birds is a short experimental essay film that explores the journey of a young woman who is forced to come to terms with losing her sight. The film offers a poetic meditation on the relationship between visual memory and blindness, reflecting upon the struggle to retain these memories in a world of sightlessness.

SOLITARY ACTS #4, #5 & #6 NAZLI DINCL | 2015 | USA | 8MIN,5.5 MIN & 10.50 MIN

Sexuality, body autonomy, religion and arousal fuse with vision in this series of films.

DIVING WITHIN

HANAN DIRYA | 2015 | IRELAND |10 MIN

Diving Within is a short documentary featuring Malaysian, Sharena Abdullah, who came to Ireland four years ago. She talks about identity, faith and open sea swimming.

POLLEN

HELEN WARNER | 2015 | UK | 9.03 MIN

She knew he would find her, it was just a matter of time. Many people had told her that one day he would come. Ethereal film featuring elements of fine art.

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THURSDAY 9TH OPENING RECEPTION 7.30PM STRAND ARTS CENTRE FOLLOWED BY SCREENING OF

PRO-CHOICE DIRTY DANCING LIVE READ AMERICAN BAR 9.30PM-1AM

SMASH THE HETERO-PATRIARCHY YACHT ROCK KARAOKE OH YEAH CENTRE 8PM

WANDA

DIR. BARBARA LODEN 8PM

FRIDAY 10TH LUNCHTIME TALK WITH TREASA O’BRIEN ULSTER UNIVERSITY 1PM

FILM AS ACTIVISM PANEL OH YEAH CENTRE 5PM

BORN IN FLAMES DIR. LIZZIE BORDEN OH YEAH CENTRE 8PM

SATURDAY 11TH FILM AS ACTIVISM WORKSHOP ULSTER UNIVERSITY 9.30AM-12.30PM

SUNDAY 12TH FILMMAKER TALK WITH MARGO HARKIN AND ANNE CRILLY BLACKBOX 12PM

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS BEANBAG CINEMA 1.30PM

JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES DIR.CHANTAL AKERMAN QFT 2.10PM

RIDDLES OF THE SPHINX

DIR.LAURA MULVEY & PETER WOLLEN BEANBAG CINEMA 6PM

MAEVE

DIR. PAT MURPHY & JOHN DAVIES BLACKBOX 1PM

CLOSING NIGHT FILM TRAPPED

DIR.DAWN PORTER QFT 4PM

THURSDAY 9TH OPENING RECEPTION 7.30PM STRAND ARTS CENTRE FOLLOWED BY SCREENING OF

PRO-CHOICE DIRTY DANCING LIVE READ AMERICAN BAR 9.30PM-1AM

SMASH THE HETERO-PATRIARCHY YACHT ROCK KARAOKE OH YEAH CENTRE 8PM

WANDA

DIR. BARBARA LODEN 8PM

FRIDAY 10TH LUNCHTIME TALK WITH TREASA O’BRIEN ULSTER UNIVERSITY 1PM

FILM AS ACTIVISM PANEL OH YEAH CENTRE 5PM

BORN IN FLAMES DIR. LIZZIE BORDEN OH YEAH CENTRE 8PM

SATURDAY 11TH FILM AS ACTIVISM WORKSHOP ULSTER UNIVERSITY 9.30AM-12.30PM

SUNDAY 12TH FILMMAKER TALK WITH MARGO HARKIN AND ANNE CRILLY BLACKBOX 12PM

INTERNATIONAL SHORTS BEANBAG CINEMA 1.30PM

JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES DIR.CHANTAL AKERMAN QFT 2.10PM

RIDDLES OF THE SPHINX

DIR.LAURA MULVEY & PETER WOLLEN BEANBAG CINEMA 6PM

MAEVE

DIR. PAT MURPHY & JOHN DAVIES BLACKBOX 1PM

CLOSING NIGHT FILM TRAPPED

DIR.DAWN PORTER QFT 4PM

TREASA O’BRIEN TALK AT ULSTER UNIVERSITY 10TH FEB | CONOR LECTURE THEATRE | 1PM | FREE

Treasa O’Brien will introduce her work and will be joined in discussion with WANDA programmer Rose Baker.

FILM AS ACTIVISM PANEL 10TH FEB | OH YEAH CENTRE | 5PM | FREE

Chaired by Emma Campbell from Alliance For Choice, the panel will include filmmakers who have made films, documentary and narrative, about issues that affect women in the world today. We ask how film can be a form of feminist activism, and what drives these filmmakers to tell women’s stories. The panellists will include the writer and filmmaker, Lisa Keogh and activist and filmmaker, Caoimhe Butterly.

PRO-CHOICE DIRTY DANCING LIVE READ FRIDAY 10TH | AMERICAN BAR | 9.30PM | £3

Everyone knows the fantastically cheesy 80s pop culture side of Dirty Dancing, but are you aware of its feminist credentials? The story of Baby and Johnny’s romance is very well known, but the film’s sub-plot of crisis pregnancy is sometimes overlooked. We’re celebrating writer Eleanor Bernstein’s progressive script with an unrehearsed live read performed upstairs at the American Bar. Come along and finally enjoy this cheese-fest without a hint of shame! Our performers are all taking part out of the good of their hearts, and all proceeds from the night will go to the Abortion Support Network.

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ACTIVIST FILMMAKING WORKSHOP 11TH FEB | ULSTER UNIVERSITY | 9.30AM | £10

Filmmaker and activist Treasa O’Brien is coming to Belfast to teach us how to make films! If you’re a budding or fully-fledged feminist activist who would like to learn more about making films for your cause please apply. Activists often work under pressure without a budget, time or fancy equipment. This is a great opportunity to gain skills and knowledge from an innovative and inspiring filmmaker.

The workshop will last for three hours. Places are limited so don’t wait around!

Apply to wandabelfast@gmail.com stating your name, a little bit about yourself and your level of filmmaking experience, whatever that may be.

SMASH THE HETERO-PATRIARCHY YACHT ROCK KARAOKE 11TH FEB | OH YEAH CENTRE | 8.30PM | £5

Don’t get mad - get musical! We’re joining forces with the wild women of Yacht Rock Karaoke to bring you this one-off Hollywood special. What better way to vent your gender-based frustrations than to belt out anthems like Nine To Five and Secret Love? There’s no dress code but feel free to dress as your favourite feminist film character!

TALK WITH MARGO HARKIN AND ANNE CRILLY 12TH FEB | BLACKBOX | 12PM | FREE

We are delighted to have Anne Crilly and Margo Harkin at WANDA to share their experiences of making socially and politically movtivated films in Ireland from the 80s to today.

Anne Crilly (Mother Ireland) and Margo Harkin (Hush-a-bye-baby) set up the Derry Film and Video Collective with five others in 1984. It was formed as part of a Channel Four workshop scheme under the ACCT Workshop Declaration which provided access to funding for under-represented voices.

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THE FILMMAKERS CHANTAL AKERMAN Chantal Akerman was a highly influential and much-loved feminist filmmaker who died suddenly in 2015 aged 65. Her films often depicted the home, domestic and family life and relationships. Her best-known film, Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080, Bruxelles, was described by the New York Times as the “first masterpiece of the feminine in the history of the cinema” and launched her career. Despite the critical acclaim of later works she spoke in 2009 of her early success, saying “It was pleasant and everything, but tough too because I wondered how to do even better. And I don’t know that I have.”

LIZZIE BORDEN Lizzie Borden is a writer-director based in Los Angeles. Her films include Born In Flames (1983), Working Girls (1986), and Inside Out (1991). She has directed television episodes of Red Shoe Diaries (1992-1997), and Alex Mack (1994-1998), and has also written pilots for Fox and Skype. Borden is currently developing the film Rialto, a play about Nina Simone called The Queen of Shebang, and the TV series Sierra.

CAOIMHE BUTTERLY Currently based in Dublin, Caoimhe has over 20 years experience as an activist living and working alongside social movements and grassroots community projects around the world. Caoimhe’s films movingly reflect the experiences of people she encounters, most recently while working with migrants in Greece and the surrounding islands. WANDA is screening Idomeni/The Border.

NAZLI DINÇEL Nazlı Dinçel’s work reflects on experiences of disruption. She records the body in context with arousal, immigration, dislocation and desire with the film material: its texture, color and the tracticle body of emulsion. Her use of text as image, language and sound attempts the failure of memory and her own displacement within a western society.

Born in Ankara, Turkey, Dinçel emigrated to the United States at the age of 17.

HANAN DIRYA Originally from Somalia, Hanan is currently based in Dublin. A director, producer and editor, she has two short films in the programme: Our Right To Choose, making its UK and Ireland premiere at WANDA, and Diving Within, a short documentary of critical acclaim.

BARBARA LODEN Barbara Loden was an award-winning stage and screen actor who directed, wrote and starred in the feminist independent film, Wanda (1970). Loden wrote the film based on her own experience. She was married to the Hollywood director Elia Kazan, who famously spoke about her after her death in an interview with Marguerite Duras for Cahiers du Cinema. Duras said “...there is an immediate and definitive coincidence between Barbara Loden and Wanda.”

NIAMH MCKENNA Niamh McKenna is a filmmaker from Louth, Ireland and a recent graduate of a MA in Film and Visual Studies from Queen’s University, Belfast. Using the medium of experimental short film, her work explores the ideas of modern female identity through the imagery and poetry of everyday life. Niamh’s work has been screened at Dublin’s Feminist Film Festival and The Rogue Gallery in Waterford City.

LAURA MULVEY & PETER WOLLEN Laura Mulvey first came to prominence with her essay Visual Pleasure and Narrative cinema in 1975, an essay that uses psychoanalytic theories to explore the conventions of positioning woman as object of the male gaze in Hollywood cinema. Between 1974 and 1982 Mulvey and Wollen co-wrote and directed six theoretical films that explore these cnventions further. Their works use avant garde aesthetics to deconstruct traditional screen subjects and framing devices.

PAT MURPHY Pat Murphy was born in Dublin and studied fine art in Belfast and London and recieved an MA in film fromthe Royal College of Art in London under Laura Mulvey. Maeve was Murphy’s first feature film, followed by historical films Nora featuring Ewan McGregor and Susan Lynch and Anne Devlin featuring Brid Brennan and David Kelly. Murphy is an important figure in the history of Irish feminist filmmakers and storytellers TREASA O’BRIEN The director of Eat Your Children (2016),Treasa is a filmmaker, producer, academic and festival curator. O’Brien’s repertoire is vast and ranges from making fiction, experimental and documentary films to her Phd practice and festival curation as well as working within the feminist performance collective Speaking of IMELDA. HELEN WARNER Helen Warner is a fine art photographer and filmmaker living and working in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Originally from Toulouse in the South West of France, Helen is a graduate of Queen’s University, Belfast where she mastered in cinema and modernism.

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VENUES STRAND CINEMA, 156 HOLYWOOD RD, BT4 1NY ULSTER UNIVERSITY, YORK ST, BT15 1ED BEANBAG CINEMA, EXCHANGE PLACE, BT1 2NA OH YEAH CENTRE, GORDON ST, BT1 2LG AMERICAN BAR, DOCK ST, BT1 1LF QFT, UNIVERSITY SQ, BT7 1NN BLACKBOX, HILL ST, BT1 2LA

THANK YOU WANDA would not be possible without the support of the following organisations and individuals. We would like to extend a huge thank you to the following:

The Belfast Film Festival Film Hub NI Ulster University Alliance for Choice Queen’s Film Theatre The Strand Arts Centre The Oh Yeah Centre The American Bar The Black Box

Michele Devlin Stephen Hackett Mary Lindsay Vittoria Cafolla Johanna Leech Susan Picken Fiona McElroy Sara Gunn-Smith Hugh Odling-Smee Gareth Evans Mark Butterly Katie Richardson Jason Mills

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Siobhán Barbour Sarah Gordon Jon Beer Luke Butterly Emma Campbell Sara Morrison Ceardha Morgan Lisa Keogh Caoimhe Butterly Hanan Dirya Treasa O’Brien Sarah Edge Michael Staley