agnès films’ member Karen Alexander organizes “40 Years of Women in Media: A Celebration”
40 Years of Women in Media: A Celebration
Date: October 31, 2012
Location: Trayes Hall, Douglass Campus Center, 100 George Street, New Brunswick, NJ, 08901
Time: 9am -9pm (times for individual sessions below)
Sponsors: Douglass Residential College and the Associate Dean of Douglass Campus. Co-sponsors: Institute for Women’s Leadership, Films for the Feminist Classroom, Rutgers Office for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance, Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking, and the Institute for Women and Art’s Fertile Crescent Project.
Contact: Karen Alexander (Dean of Junior and Senior Year Programs, Douglass Residential College), kalexander@echo.rutgers.edu; 732-932-2900, ext. 119. See http://karenfalexander.com/40-years-of-women-in-media-a-one-day-conference/.
This day-long series of events consists of 5 sessions:
The first begins with a welcome and continental breakfast at 9 and will feature a screening of the film Unveiled Views: Muslim Women Artists Speak Out (2009), which is directed by Alba Sotorra and distributed by Women Make Movies. This screening meshes with the Fertile Crescent Project programming by the Institute for Women and Art. The film will be introduced by recently retired IWA Director Ferris Olin and will begin at 9:30.
The second session (11-12:15) celebrates the 40th anniversary of Women Make Movies and will consist of a talk by WMM Executive Director Debra Zimmerman, who will be introduced by Dena Seidel, the Director of the Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking. Kristen Fallica (Dept. of English/Film Studies, University of Pittsburgh), whose dissertation examines the history of Women Make Movies as a production collective, will serve as discussant and moderator for audience questions. This session doubles as a plenary for the Knowledge and Power course.
Session 3 (1:15-3:30) is student organized. It will feature films made by Rutgers students and a panel of young women filmmakers: are Megan Maldonado, Jessica Rosney, Rebecca Granet, Tamiyah Yancey, Wislande Guillaume. The winning film in the GET LOUD! Contest for a short film by a student addressing women’s issues will be screened. The winners of a student essay contest sponsored by Ms. Magazine, “Who Needs Feminist Media Today?” will also be announced by Ms. representative Karon Jolna. Popcorn and beverages will be provided.
From 3:30 to 4:30 pm, students from the Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking will demonstrate some of the cameras that they learn to use in their courses while working toward a certificate in filmmaking.
The 4th session begins with a light reception at 4pm followed by a panel discussion at 4:30. Panelists include Debra Zimmerman (Executive Director, Women Make Movies), Dena Seidel (Director, Rutgers Center for Digital Filmmaking), Alison Bernstein (Director, Institute for Women’s Leadership), Kristen Fallica (Dept. of English/Film Studies, University of Pittsburgh), Jane Sloan (Rutgers University Media Librarian), Karon Jolna (Ms. Magazine), and Aishah Shahidah Simmons (director of NO! The Rape Documentary). Deanna Utroske (Founder of Films for the Feminist Classroom) will moderate. This session ends at 6.
The evening finishes with a dialogue with filmmaker Aishah Shahidah Simmons, director of NO! The Rape Documentary, from 7 to 9. Ms. Simmons will be introduced by Cheryl Clarke (Livingston Campus Dean of Students) and the discussion will be moderated by Lisa Smith (Center for Violence Prevention and Victim Assistance). This is an excellent opportunity for dialogue among student groups on the subject of sexual violence, and it would be ideal for men’s groups on campus who want to stand as allies with women in the fight against gender violence. Pizza and beverages will be provided.