Area of Activity III: Cultures and Communication

Feminist Film Screenings

Images of women as frequently depicted in the media, public sphere, and culture do not or only partially reflect the actual experiences of women. This film project takes this idea as its starting point and counters the standard ideas of female lives and gender roles with the wide-ranging views of feminist filmmakers.



Participants

Five female filmmakers from Germany and Israel

Project Content
There are few other places where the power of images has such a significant effect as on the big screen. The five participating female filmmakers make use of this effect, as their films set the subjective experiences of “real” women against the images of standard gender roles produced in the media. A language that draws on words and images is developed in the process which captures the diverse, but often very similar living realities of the female protagonists in front of the camera and offers these up for discussion.

Project Working Methods
The five films made by the participants each grapple with the subject of “Women and Language” in different ways and will be screened simultaneously in Tel Aviv and Berlin to coincide with International Women’s Day in March 2017. After the screenings, the filmmakers and the audiences in both countries have the chance to take part in a joint discussion on screen via Skype. The discussion is intended to explore the extent to which the experiences of women resemble one another across national and cultural borders and which strategies might help them to find their own identity, communicate the issues that matter to them, and play an active role in shaping processes.

Project Goals
The project strives to provide new impulses in an industry whose images of women are strongly characterized by the dominance of male filmmakers. It is supposed to put the spotlight on women both in front of and behind the camera and to help them form local and international networks. 

Video clip: Irit Sharvit, Persona Films
Collaborating Partners
Kinoclan – Women with Cameras in Tel Aviv
Berlin Feminist Film Week