“Vibrant Voices” Anthology Released

Announcing the release:  Vibrant Voices: Women, Myth, and the Arts

Volume II, Proceedings of the Association for the Study of Women and Mythology

With over 30 contributors, this full-color book explores the many facets of women’s arts as they illuminate sacred stories from many traditions. In her Foreword, Judy Grahn says,

These essays add to our sensual experiences as well as to our ever-expanding knowledge base. The invitational qualities and broad diversity of origin and expression of the selections in this volume are balanced by histories of the colonization that the foremothers and preservers of indigenous religions and community have had to endure.

This book will be available at Goddess Ink and online retailers.

“Under the Husk”: Special Film at ASWM Conference

“Ohero:kon – Under the Husk,” by Katsitsionne Fox

“Ohero:kon – Under the Husk” is a 26-min documentary following the journey of  two Mohawk girls as they take part in their traditional passage rites to becoming Mohawk Women.  Kaienkwinehtha and Kasennakohe are childhood friends from traditional families living in the Mohawk Community of Akwesasne that straddles the U.S. / Canada border.  They both take part in a four-year adolescent passage rites ceremony that we were able to revive for our youth even though it had not been practiced for generations. This ceremony challenges them spiritually, mentally, emotionally and physically.  It shapes the women they become.

The ceremony is called Ohero:kon because the corn is a metaphor for the youth that are meant to be protected by the husk until they are grown. We started with seven youth, and in just ten years there were more than 80 youth with Ohero:kon branching out to sister communities as well. The women and men in our community were called upon to be aunties and uncles to these young people and guide them through a transition we had never experienced ourselves. We learned with them and were amazed by how this ceremony awakened their gifts and strengthened their spirits.

“There are so few films that reflect the true strength and beauty of our young people, especially our young women. It is important for us to be in the driver seat of these stories of hope and empowerment that are unfolding in Native communities across Turtle Island.

The Film “Ohero:kon – Under the Husk” has screened across the country at a variety of film festivals. The film engages the audience to reflect on the importance of recognizing Rites of Passage in their own culture. I enjoy the dialogue that is sparked by the film.”

—Melissa Katsitsionne Fox

Ohero:kon: Under the Husk” has won the imagineNATIVE Jane Glassco Award for an Emerging Filmmaker (2016) and the LA Skins Fest – Achievement in Documentary Filmmaking Award for 2016. It is available for purchase through Women Make Movies.

2018 “Winter Warmer” Film Screenings

Again this year we are providing the member benefit of special screenings for films by and about women. These films are accessible through the member section of our website. To get the 2018 member access code, join or renew and we will send you the code. To find out more about what we are doing, and to learn more about films we have screened, contact the ASWM film group.

Here are this year’s selections:

The Girl from God’s Country (2014), written and directed by Karen Day

In the 1920s, Nell Shipman was the first female independent film maker to pioneer the nude scene and advocate for animal welfare. Shipman wrote, directed, produced and acted in movies portraying women as self-reliant heroines. This film reveals the forgotten legacy of Shipman and a generation of female silent film pioneers, including rare footage of these women, including minority filmmakers Zora Neale Hurston and Miriam Wong. Geena Davis and women directors discuss gender-inequities Nell and her counterparts faced that perpetuate in today’s film industry.

The Passionate Pursuits of Angela Bowen (2016), a film by Jennifer Abod

For six decades Angela Bowen, classical dancer and teacher, black lesbian feminist activist, and professor has influenced and inspired untold numbers speaking out as strongly for the Arts, Black and Women’s Rights as she has for Lesbian and Gay Rights. The film depicts Bowen’s life across the decades, from the early fifties, with historic footage, photographs and interviews. Bowen’s candid and compelling stories allow us to understand how race, class, gender, age, and sexuality played into her decisions and choices, her mission, and strategies for survival. Passionate Pursuits is intended to challenge and inspire diverse audiences to pursue their own dreams with tenacity and courage, but not for themselves alone.

Let’s Get the Rhythm (2014) a film by Irene Chagall

Music is central to our lives. Mothers soothe their babies with gentle rhythm and melody. Music is one of the oldest arts, a vehicle for learning, present in all cultures. Let’s Get the Rhythm captures girls’ handclapping games from inner city playgrounds and across the world… from every continent… and islands in between. Girls from diverse cultures – from Brooklyn to Tanzania – charm us as they learn and share while expanding their experience. Drawing attention to the social importance of girls’ games, the film features footage from far-flung locations as well as ancient Egyptian reliefs. Let’s Get the Rhythm accentuates the beauty of the beat with compelling observations on the empowering force on the lives of girls, women and humanity.

Once again we will have the films available for a month, until March 7. This year we have adjusted the times of our conference calls to include our friends in the UK. You may see the films at any time, and we hope that you’ll fill out review forms so that we will be able to share comments with the filmmakers.

The call in number is available on the member only page.

Highlighting Four Great Films in 2017

Jewels for January & February, Online Film Series

 This winter we are offering our first member-only online film series. Our thanks to the filmmakers and distributors who have made it possible. Special thanks to Women Make Movies and Grasshopper Films for their guidance and generosity.

For your consideration, here are descriptions of the great films we will show from Jan 25-Feb 28, 2017. (It’s another great reason to join or renew, since the films and discussions are only available to members.)

Apache 8, by Sande Zeig

For 30 years, the all-female Apache 8 unit has protected their reservation from fire and responded to wildfires around the nation. Facing gender stereotypes and the problems that come with life on the impoverished reservation, the women became known as some of the country’s most elite firefighters. This film focuses primarily on four women who speak tenderly and often humorously of hardship, loss, family, community and pride in being a firefighter. They are separated from their families, face tribe initiation, and struggle to make a living. But while the women may have initially set out to try and earn a living in their economically challenged community, they quickly discover an inner strength and resilience that speaks to their traditions and beliefs as Native women.

SPECIAL SNEAK PREVIEW:  The Breast Archives, by Meagan Murphy

The Breast Archives is a powerful documentary, illuminating significant themes and often-stifled experiences of womanhood in America: puberty, sexuality, social mores, and menopause. Viewers get to know nine unforgettable women, ages 32-68, who boldly bare their hearts and breasts to the camera, candidly revealing individual journeys they’ve made in reclaiming their bodies. By exposing themselves, the women expose, and challenge, all of us. And by understanding how breasts are defined by American culture and how women are affected, The Breast Archives suggests what we can do to make positive changes for ourselves and our loved ones.

A Woman to Match a Mountain, by Karen Snyder

Are myths and legends only available from ancient sources?  This charming biographical film proves that it’s possible for a modern woman to single-handedly build a myth tradition that continues to thrive in Wyoming 80 years after its creation.  Neal Forsling was herself the stuff of legend, a young woman who divorced in the 1920s and moved with her two girls to homestead on a mountaintop in the rugged land near Casper.  There she not only defied convention as a writer and artist, but in 1930, at her Summer Solstice party, she started a living myth tradition: the Witches of Crimson Dawn.

Letters from Baghdad, by Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum

Voiced and executive produced by Tilda Swinton, Letters from Baghdad is a visually rich, beautifully crafted documentary that tells the story of Gertrude Bell, who, more influential than her friend and colleague Lawrence of Arabia, shaped the modern Middle East in ways that still reverberate today. Explorer, writer, archeologist, spy and political powerhouse, Bell was one of the most influential and fascinating women at the dawn of the 20th century. Widely travelled across Arabia, she was instrumental in pushing for an end to colonial rule and played a major role (alongside Churchill and T.E. Lawrence) in creating and administering the modern state of Iraq.

 

Screen-in of Films to Teach Tolerance

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Women Make Movies presents:  

Response to Hate:
Teaching Tolerance
, Free Inauguration Week Screen-In

Here is the announcement of this one-week opportunity from Women Make Movies to screen important documentaries:

“This year’s post-election period revealed deep societal divisions that prompted acts of violence, as well as other forms of intolerance. In response, concerned educators and communities are looking to cultivate transformative conversations. To help with these efforts, WMM is presenting to types of offers, 1) an exclusive 25% off discount on selected new releases, and/or 2) an option for educators to participate in our new “SCREEN IN” initiative, which provides an opportunity to view the selection of films online, for free, during the week leading up to the January 20th inauguration. The curated collection includes:

These films amplify vital issues on the topics of race relations, Islamophobia, transgender equality, violence against women, health care inequity, immigration, climate justice and more.

Call 212-925-0606 x 360 or write orders@wmm.com to place your order. Use coupon code: TTOL16 

Offer expires January 31, 2017.