FEMALE EYE COMMEMORATES THE DECEMBER 6 MASSACRE A day of films, panel discussions and a reception remember the Montreal Massacre. 4 pm. Free. Nat Taylor Cinema, York University. www.femaleeyefilmfestival.com. Rating: NNNNN
WHAT’S THE PURPOSE OF THE EVENT?
To raise awareness of an issue that still plagues women in real ways. The Female Eye festival itself (which runs in March) gets many complex, hard-hitting documentaries. We can’t program them all for the festival, but they’re ideal for a December 6 event.
SO YOU SEE FILMMAKING AS ACTIVISM.
In fact, one of the films we’re screening – Amina, by Khadija Al-Salami – has already had an impact. It’s about a young Arab woman who’s been jailed unjustly. Since the movie has been shown around the world, the woman has been released.
WHY DOES DECEMBER 6 STILL RESONATE?
It was such a senseless thing. And things like it continue to happen all over the world. As a country, we have to remember, to take a moment to pause and reflect. I do relief work in a shelter in Toronto, and it’s staggering how many women die at the hands of their partners. As a culture we need to look deeper to discover what we’ve missed when it comes to the perpetrators.
WHY DO WE EVEN NEED A FEMALE EYE FILM FESTIVAL?
The festival’s mandate is to program films directed by women. Women directors are still a minority. A woman like Mary Harron still had to fight to get to direct American Psycho. So many of the entries at Female Eye are shorts, precisely because women can’t get access to the funds required to make feature films.
FAVOURITE FEMALE DIRECTOR?
Jane Campion – I love her aesthetic. And Kari Skogland, who’s really eclectic and makes movies that have lots of guns and explosions.
BEST MAINSTREAM FILM ABOUT WIFE ASSAULT?
Once Were Warriors. It deals with the issues in all their grimness and brutality. It’s so authentic that it gets shown to women who are in shelters for assaulted women.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO TO CHILL?
I’ll go to an art show because most of the time there are no words – it can be a silent medium. With film you’re always being told and shown so much. Art shows give you more room for intepretation.
