UNC Asheville Holds Sixth Annual F-Word Film Festival March 23-24;
Six Films By and About Women to be Screened

UNC Asheville will hold the sixth annual “F-Word Film Festival: A Celebration of Images By and About Women (But for All Audiences)” at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 23, and Friday, March 24, in UNC Asheville’s Humanities Lecture Hall. Six 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.

“In My Father’s Church,” “Mirror Mirror” and “After the Montreal Massacre” will be shown on March 23.

Charissa King’s 49-minute film, “In My Father’s Church,” follows the filmmaker as she attempts to ask her father, a Methodist pastor, if he’d defy United Methodist church policy and officiate her same-sex wedding. The story of one woman’s attempt to reconcile her love, faith and family illuminates the conflicts that gay marriage has caused in many churches and for many individuals trying to maintain their faith while preserving their own identities.

“Mirror Mirror,” a 17-minute film by Jan Krawitz, provocatively explores the relationship between a woman’s body image and the quest for an idealized female form. Thirteen women of varying age, size and ethnicity candidly reveal the way they regard their bodies. The film explores the vagaries in the concept of an “ideal” body.

On December 6, 1989, a gunman entered the engineering building at the University of Montreal and killed 14 women. “After the Montreal Massacre,” a 27-minute documentary by Gerry Rogers, situates this crime within the context of other kinds of violence against women. A wounded survivor and other students describe the killings, which are widely believed to be a backlash against feminism.

“Desire,” “Choice Thoughts: Reflections on the Birth Control War” and “The Wash: A Cleaning Story” will be shown on March 24.

Nearly a decade in the making, “Desire” documents the challenges and desires of a group of young, diverse women in New Orleans by letting them film their own stories. The 84-minute film by Julie Gustafson and the Teenage Girls’ Documentary Project explores the intimate drama of the women’s changing lives.

“Choice Thoughts: Reflections on the Birth Control War” blends rare archival footage and sound bytes from religious and political leaders to take a fast-paced look at 100 years of the fight for birth control and legalized abortion. The 10-minute film by Jacqueline Frank explores the work of Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger and illuminates the ongoing dialogue around the issue of choice.

“The Wash: A Cleaning Story” is a nine-minute autobiographical video narrative that closely studies filmmaker Eve Sandler’s survival of childhood sexual abuse. The visual inquiry into female relationships and secrets explores themes of incest, family denial, silence and love.

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