Film/Video THE WALKER ART CENTER PRESENTS WOMEN WITH VISION: ON THE MOVE MARCH 1-22, 2003 UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED, PROGRAMS ARE $7 ($5 WALKER MEMBERS) AND TAKE PLACE IN THE WALKER AUDITORIUM.

Is the Earth spinning faster or does the increased movement of people traveling around the world only make it seem that way? Migration, fueled by global transitions of people, cultures, and ideas, gives the illusion of a smaller planet. The world is on the move and the changes shape and reframe the way we live. In its 10th anniversary year, the Women with Vision festival celebrates a world in motion and the women directors who are keeping up with it using the media of film and video. The 2003 festival features works about global change as seen through the eyes of filmmakers who look to today's headlines as well as tales from the past to help us understand the present.

With recent international travel restrictions and increased border controls, the stories of idealists in search of their dreams, or those and attempting to escape oppression become more poignant. Documentary filmmakers are telling today's stories, whether focused on a young man leaving Bangladesh to find work (Yasmine Kabir's My Migrant Soul); people struggling north and south of the Mexico-U.S. border (Chantal Akerman's From the Other Side); or American and Afghani families who suffered from the September 11 terrorist attacks (Frances Anderson's Civilian Casualties).

Today women are also moving in greater numbers to the role of feature-film director. This year the festival showcases the work of women directors from eight countries: Bangladesh, China, Denmark, France, Iceland, Iran, New Zealand, and the United States. Their fictions are linked by the subject of transformation, from Emily Tang's Conjugation, which takes place following the events at Tiananmen Square; Yamina Benguigui's Inch'Allah Sunday, set in the 1970s when France first opened its doors to families of Algerian immigrants; to Niki Caro's Whale Rider, reflecting dramatic changes for women through a mythic tale about New Zealand's Whagara people. The festival also includes works by some of the most honored names in European cinema, including Danish filmmaker Susanne Bier and French director Claire Denis.

Women with Vision offers a number of different ways for audiences to engage more deeply with the films. A daylong salon of screenings and discussions led by Alyce Myatt (Vice President for Programming at PBS) presents opportunities for us to delve more deeply into the issues of history and transition raised by the documentaries. Partnering with the Archive Committee of the Society of Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS), leading scholars discuss the early influence of women directors during a program of screenings of archival treasures from the silent era. Shorts by media artists open every program, interpreting our lives in new ways through fresh ideas and experimental forms.

At the 10th-anniversary mark, the Women with Vision festival has grown--more filmmakers submit works to be screened and audience numbers break each previous attendance record. Girls in the Director's Chair, the program of youth-made media, has evolved with the guidance of the

Walker's Education Department, especially Jennifer Kennedy-Logan, Anne Dugan, and Witt Siasoco. Teen co-curators Claire Urbanski and Katrin Snider selected the films and videos by young women ranging in age from 8 to 18. Girls in the Director's Chair is made possible by a very generous gift from the Women's Foundation of Minnesota, which marks its 6th year of support for the festival. I am pleased the Society for Cinema and Media Studies is participating in the festival program during their national conference in Minneapolis. I am deeply grateful to all of the artists, distributors, and programmers who contribute to Women with Vision.