UNC Asheville Holds Fifth Annual F-Word Film Festival March 24-25;
Six Films by and About Women to Be Screened
UNC Asheville will hold the fifth annual “F-Word Film
Festival: A Celebration of Images By and About Women (But for All
Audiences)” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 24, and Friday, March 25, in UNC
Asheville’s Humanities Lecture Hall. Six different feminist videos will
be screened in conjunction with UNC Asheville’s Women’s History Month
events. Panel discussions with UNC Asheville faculty and students will
immediately follow the screenings both nights. Films are free and open
to the public but are suggested for mature audiences only.
“Picture Me an Enemy,” “Sir: Just a Normal Guy” and
“Rule of Thumb: Order of Protection” will be shown on March 24.
“Picture Me an Enemy,” a 29-minute film by Nathalie
Applewhite, puts a human face on the wars in former Yugoslavia through
the stories of two young women from opposite sides of the battle lines.
Although pictured to one another as longtime enemies, a Serbo-Croat and
a Bosnian-Muslim speak a common truth about how those in power used
religion, ethnicity and nationality to construct the enemy. The two
women reach beyond their national identities to address universal
questions about conflict, peace and forgiveness.
Melanie LaRosa’s 57-minute film, “Sir: Just a
Normal Guy,” follows the 15-month female-to-male medical and emotional
transition of one patient. Footage shot before and after the surgery
captures dramatic physical transitions, while candid interviews with the
patient, his ex-husband, his best friend and his lesbian-identified
partner capture the emotional and psychological shifts that occur during
the process.
The Emmy Award nominee “Rule of Thumb: Order of
Protection” examines domestic violence against women. In this 22-minute
film by Jill Petzall, five women from different backgrounds discuss
their ordeals and the concrete steps they have taken to eradicate fear
and violence from their daily lives. Supplemented with testimonies from
a female judge, a police officer and a former abuser, “Rule of Thumb”
also provides clear, concise instructions for obtaining an order of
protection and other support services.
“Under the Skin Game,” “Ferry Tales” and “Summer of
the Serpent” will be screened on March 25.
“Under the Skin Game” combines images from
instructional films, 1950s melodrama and the nightly news to build the
filmmaker’s argument that the contraceptive implant Norplant is being
used as an instrument of social control. In this 18-minute documentary,
filmmaker Diane Nerwen analyzes the use and abuse of contraceptive
technologies and their relationship to the politics of race, class and
gender.
Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary Short,
“Ferry Tales” exposes a secret world that unites a wide variety of women
in the Staten Island Ferry powder room. In this 40-minute film by Katja
Esson, the commuters talk not as wives, mothers or professional, but
just as themselves. They dish on everything from sex scandals to
stilettos, family problems to September 11th, leaving stereotypes at the
bathroom door.
“Summer of the Serpent” is a 27-minute drama by
Kimi Takesue. The story follows eight-year old Juliette, who sitting by
the side of the local pool waiting for another lonely summer day to
pass, when an unexpected pair of Japanese newcomers arrives. Fascinated
by the mysterious woman and her yakuza assistant, Juliette transforms an
ordinary day into an imaginative adventure. The film provides an
exploration into the representations of Asians on film, Asian
masculinity and cross-cultural encounters.
For more information, call Lori Horvitz, UNC
Asheville assistant professor of literature and language, at
828/251-6590.
Media Contacts:
- Dr. Lori Horvitz, UNC Asheville Assistant Professor of Literature
and Language, 828/251-6590
- Jill Yarnall, UNC Asheville Public Information Assistant Director,
828/251-6526
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