Women with Vision 17th International Film Festival

From March 12–27, the Walker Art Center presents

Women with Vision

, an international film festival which recognizes the perspectives women bring to the art of filmmaking. Women with Vision celebrates its 17th edition with an array of films by women filmmakers exploring the world today. New films from wide-ranging vantage points in Germany, Iceland, Austria, France, Mexico, and the Northwest Canadian Territories tell poignant stories of our time. The Walker welcomes several visiting artists, including Deborah Stratman and Laurel Nakadate, as well as a group of Minnesota-based documentarians whose topics are as far-reaching as war-torn Sierra Leone and as close as Fritz Mondale and his public service.

Highlights of this year’s festival include the opening-night screening of Claire Denis’ latest film, 35 Shots of Rum (35 rhums) (March 12, 7:30 pm); the area premiere of Floria Sigismondi’s The Runaways, the director’s debut feature about the quintessential rock ‘n roll girl group (March 13, 7:30 pm); visiting artist Deborah Stratman introduces the premiere of her film O’er the Land (March 18, 7:30 pm); Jessica Hausner’s Lourdes, which won the FIPRESCI Prize at the Venice Film Festival (March 19, 7:30 pm); Margarethe von Trotta’s Vision (March 21, 3 pm); Stay the Same Never Change, introduced by director Laurel Nakadate (March 25, 7:30 pm); Natalia Almada’s El General, introduced by the director (March 26, 7:30 pm); and the closing-night screening of Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu’s Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain) (March 27, 7:30 pm). This year’s Women with Vision festival also features the Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) short film showcase (March 14, 1 pm) and MNDocs, a two-part documentary program featuring works introduced by Minnesota filmmakers (March 20 and 27).

Unless otherwise noted, all films are screened in the Cinema. Tickets are $8 ($6 Walker members) and can be purchased by calling the Walker box office at 612.375.7600 or online at walkerart.org/tickets.

Cinephile’s special:

See 5 films for the price of 3 for $24 ($18 Walker members).

Women with Vision 17th International Film Festival

Opening Night
Friday, March 12, 7:30 pm

Premiere
35 Shots of Rum (35 rhums)
Directed by Claire Denis

A personal film about relationships and letting go, 35 Shots of Rum was inspired by the subtle, graceful work of Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu. Depicting a widowed father sharing an apartment with his adult daughter, the story is built around the pauses between their activities as they both make new plans for the future. “Sublime . . . Denis’ warmest, most radiant work” (Village Voice). A provocative director recognized for her explorations of cross-cultural tensions, Denis was the subject of the Walker’s 1998 Regis Retrospective, and has screened two films at previous Women with Vision film festivals. 35 Shots of Rum was included on several critics’ top ten lists. 2008, 35mm, in French with English subtitles, 100 minutes.

Saturday, March 13, 7:30 pm

Premiere
The Runaways
Directed by Floria Sigismondi

“We shared the dream of girls playing rock and roll.” —Joan Jett

One of rock’s quintessential girl groups, the Runaways exploded onto the scene in the mid-seventies, playing hits such as “Cherry Bomb” to huge audiences around the world. Based on vocalist Cherie Currie’s shocking book Neon Angel, The Runaways chronicles the band’s brief rise to fame and all that came with it. In her debut feature, Sigismondi—best known for photography and music videos for Marilyn Manson, David Bowie, and Björk—enlisted Dakota Fanning for the role of Cherie Currie and Kristen Stewart for Joan Jett. 2010, 35mm, 105 minutes.

Sunday, March 14, 1 pm

WIFTI Short Film Showcase

Celebrating films from New Zealand to the Twin Cities, this annual short film showcase includes works from festivals around the world. Organized by Women in Film & Television International (WIFTI) and copresented by its Minnesota chapter (MNWIFT). Approximate running time 120 minutes.

Thursday, March 18, 1 pm, Free

Visiting Artist
Deborah Stratman: Resilience and Passion
Minneapolis College of Art and Design

An artist working with photography, drawing, sound arts, and sculpture, Deborah Stratman has shown her work in gallery, museum, and cinema settings, including the Whitney Biennial, the Museum of Modern Art, the Centre Pompidou, and the Sundance and Rotterdam film festivals. She will present her work and discuss her artistic practice in this public talk cosponsored by the Media Arts Department, the Women’s Art Institute at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, and the Walker Art Center. For more information, visit www.mcad.edu/wai.

Thursday, March 18, 7:30 pm, Free

Visiting Artist/Premiere
O’er the Land
Introduced by director Deborah Stratman

Gun shows, historical war reenactors, cheerleaders, and motor homes are touchstones in this experimental documentary that delves into America’s concept of manifest destiny. O’er the Land reflects powerfully on the ways Americans have come to understand freedom and heroism in the light of increasing militarism and perceived threats to our national borders. Winner of the Best International Film Award at Images Festival (Toronto). A Q&A with the director follows the screening. 2009, 16 mm, 52 minutes. Audio description is available for this film at access@walkerart.org or 612.375.7564.

Friday, March 19, 7:30 pm

Premiere
Lourdes
Directed by Jessica Hausner

People flock to the purportedly miraculous healing waters in the French town of Lourdes when they think science has failed. Exploring religion and the origin of belief, Lourdes focuses on Christine (Sylvie Testud), wheelchair-bound with multiple sclerosis, who uses the pilgrimage to create a social life. “Hausner walks a tightrope . . . between medicine and the Madonna—and the result is an austere, measured, skeptical, sensitive film that lingers in the mind for days” (London Evening Standard). Winner of the FIPRESCI Prize, Venice Film Festival. 2009, 35mm, in French with English subtitles, 96 minutes.

Sunday, March 21, 3 pm

Premiere
Vision
Directed by Margarethe von Trotta

A portrait of the fascinating Hildegard of Bingen, a central figure of the medieval Catholic Church, is the latest film from “the most important woman director to emerge from the New German Cinema” (Senses of Cinema). Hildegard, a 12th-century Benedictine nun, was also a mystic, author, linguist, scientist, philosopher, herbalist, healer, poet, and composer—a range of talents that invited controversy, leading the Church to sanction her for expressing her visions from God. Barbara Sukowa renders a bravura performance. 2009, 35mm, in German with English subtitles, 111 minutes.

Thursday, March 25, 7:30 pm, Free

Visiting Artist/Premiere
Stay the Same Never Change
Introduced by director Laurel Nakadate

Photographer and video artist Nakadate draws from previous work—in which she put herself in sexually risky positions—to create a provocative tale of heartland teens and their plays for attention during a hot summer in the Midwest. The unflinching approach and quirky humor of this debut feature have drawn comparisons to the work of Todd Solondz and Harmony Korrine. It was selected for the Museum of Modern Art’s New Directors New Films series and the 2009 Sundance Film Festival, which called it “weird and delightful . . . a raw, audacious effort that burns with such originality and honesty.” 2008, video, 93 minutes.

Friday, March 26, 7:30 pm

Visiting Artist/Premiere
El General
Introduced by director Natalia Almada

“A tour de force of cinematic imagination bristling with beauty, contradiction, and the epic scope of Mexico’s last 100 years of history.” —Sundance Film Festival

Almada tells the recent history of Mexico through her great-grandfather, General Plutarco Elías Calles, a revolutionary who became Mexico’s president (1924–1928) and de facto ruler until 1935. Through this complex sketch, which combines a family’s haunting home movies with historical and contemporary footage of Mexico City, a sense of the country’s idealism as well as its injustices emerges. 2009, in Spanish with English subtitles, video, 83 minutes.

This program is made possible by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs of México, the Mexican Tourism Board, and the Consulate of México in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as part of the Mexican Bicentennial celebrations.

Saturday, March 27, 7:30 pm

Premiere
Before Tomorrow (Le jour avant le lendemain)
Directed by Marie-Hélène Cousineau and Madeline Piujuq Ivalu

“A profound, elemental, and hauntingly beautiful period drama that makes an intimate story of endurance into a metaphor for an entire culture.” —Variety

In 1840, shortly after Inuit tribes had began to encounter foreign fur traders, a boy and his grandmother return from drying fish to find everyone in their village dead from smallpox. As they look for a new community, they struggle to survive in the Arctic wilderness. This is the third work in a trilogy of Inuit dramas created by the Arnait Video Collective (Antanarjuat: The Fast Runner and The Journals of Knud Rasmussen). 2008, 35mm, in Inuktitut with English subtitles, 93 minutes.

MNDocs

MNDocs features two short-form documentary programs of projects by Minnesota-based filmmakers in which they introduce their work. A dialogue lounge—a place for directors and audience members to enjoy conversation and refreshments—will be located in the Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab from 2:30 to 5 pm. See both films for the price of one.

Saturday, March 20

Program 1

Ida’s Story, 1:30 pm
Introduced by director Barbara Wiener
A 90-year-old Ukrainian Jewish woman shares her childhood memories of a prolonged emigration to the United States after the Russian Revolution. 2009, video, 59 minutes.

Pride of Lions, 3 pm
Introduced by directors Louise Woehrle and John Woehrle
Sierra Leone’s brutal, 11-year civil war is shockingly chronicled in this film that weaves history with intimate stories of survivors. 2009, video, 52 minutes.

Saturday, March 27

Program 2

Woven from the Land, 1:30 pm
Introduced by director Teresa Konechne
South Dakota women talk about place, local issues, and their lives as the director poses the question: “What happens when a society loses its rural?” 2009, video, 56 minutes.

Fritz: The Walter Mondale Story, 3 pm
Introduced by director Melody Gilbert
This portrait of former Vice President Walter “Fritz” Mondale combines rare archival footage, family home videos, and interviews to depict a life of public service. 2008, video, 60 minutes.

Daily Screenings at the Walker

Lecture Room programs run continuously from 12 noon during gallery hours.
Free

March 2–31

Sveit
Directed by Kyja Kristjansson-Nelson
Lecture Room

Sveit, an Icelandic word untranslatable into English, is “what connects you to the earth, to history, to nature, to humanity,” according to the late poet/essayist/musician Bill Holm. With captivating cinematography and animation, this geneography of memory and place traces the filmmaker’s connection to Iceland. 2009, video, in English and Icelandic with English subtitles, 30 minutes.

April 1–May 2

Recycled Visions: The Films of Salise Hughes
Directed by Salise Hughes
Lecture Room
Runs continuously during gallery hours; free with gallery admission

Seattle-based experimental filmmaker Hughes is known for her special process of digitally erasing and layering images from found footage. This collection of her recent short films showcases complex and mesmerizing works that address such disparate subjects as capturing the ephemeral, dreams of flying, and family histories. 2005–2009, video, 62 minutes.

2010 Girls in the Director’s Chair Film Showcase

March 6

Free
Short Program: 11 am and 1:30 pm (all ages)
Full Program: 3 pm (ages 13 and up)
Cinema

Encore Screening: March 20, 3 pm, Free
Minnesota History Center, 345 W. Kellogg Boulevard, St. Paul

Presenting some of the best films made by Minnesotans ages 10 to 18, Girls in the Director’s Chair is curated and organized by teenage female directors. Founded in 1994, the showcase encourages girls’ involvement in a primary role in filmmaking. Highlights for all ages are presented during Free First Saturday. The 3 pm screenings feature the full lineup in a variety of genres (80 minutes). For more information, call 612.375.7683.

Films in the 2010 Girls in the Director’s Chair Film Showcase

The Dentist by Shayla Dallman, Kayla Sassukler, and Charlie Gallagher
Last In Line by Mainyoua Lor
I Am Bird by Cindy Vue
Haunted Playground by Bao Xiong
Life in the 7th Prophesy by Shyra Antone, Nadine Beaulieu, and Melissa Johnson
question it. by Leah Gossman
The Link by Molly Nemer and Hannah Nemer
Read to Expand Your Mind by Megan Leys
Sisters in the Jingle Dress by Kaya Mambero and Cylcelia Martinez
Pressure by Clarie Shiplett
Who Am I In The World by Jewelle Hughes, Aminata Keita, Jamal Wilburn, Pa Her, and Davion Williams
That’s So Straight! by Magdalen Solintzky
Friends by Becky Vue
OCD by Leah Gossman
The Spectrum Song by Nora Kane, San Collin, Drewcella Davis, Suren Petrosian, and Lauren Skager
Gobblehouse by Sarah Hembree
Waking Up by Hannah Ezzell
Teenager, A Poem by Erin Prizant
Without by Kathryn Linhardt
Pink Submission by Sarah Fox
Wash Me Away by Hannah Ezzell
Existence by Winonah Ojanen