The High Falls Women’s Film Festival returns for another year
of spotlighting movies made by or about women. This year the festival will
present eight narrative features, six documentary features, and four shorts
programs, beginning on Thursday, October 31, and continuing through Sunday,
November 3.
Over the
course of four days, attendees will also be able to enjoy talkbacks, coffee
chats, award presentations, parties, and more. All film screenings will take
place at The Little Theatre. Ticket information and a full schedule of films
and events can be found at highfallsfilmfestival.com.
Read on for
a few of the highlights from this year’s festival.
Directed by Bridgette Auger and Itab Azzam, “We Are
Not Princesses” seeks to find a personal angle on the Syrian
refugee crisis. The touching documentary tells the stories of several Syrian
women living as refugees in Beirut who find a renewed sense of freedom and
purpose through their participation in a theater production of the Greek
tragedy, “Antigone.”
In that
story, Anitgone learns that her two brothers have
killed each other in battle. The new king refuses to bury the conflict’s
instigator, Polynices, or even allow him to be
mourned. Antigone chooses to break the king’s law and properly bury her
brother, leading the king to sentence her to death for her actions. Though he
soon has a change of heart, it’s too late and Antigone has tragically taken her
own life.
As the
theater production goes on, the women find striking parallels to their own lives
in the story of Antigone. Combining intimate conversations and segments of
animation (which beautifully illustrate interviews with the women too afraid to
be seen on camera), the film offers an eye-opening and ultimately inspiring
look into refugee experience, as the women connect with one another and
discover an unexpected new outlet to express themselves. (Thursday, October 31, 4:30 p.m.)
Opening
night selection “Mother’s Little Helpers” is a warm,
witty, and wise take on the dysfunctional family dramedy. Four adult siblings
reunite, coming together to support their estranged mother after she’s
diagnosed with a terminal illness and learns she has only weeks left to live.
Director KestrinPantera
also stars in this heartfelt story about love, loss, and the deep bonds of
family.
Preceding
that feature will be the presentation of the Elizabeth Cady Stanton “Thorn in
the Side” Award, which honors women who exemplify the collaborative nature of
film and video. This year’s recipient is Catherine Wyler, founding Artistic
Director of the High Falls Film Festival. (Thursday,
October 31, 6:30 p.m.)
The
charmingly lowkey mystery “Snaeland” finds a disgraced journalist who
travels on assignment to a small Icelandic fishing village. When he meets a
woman he suspects is actually a former French nanny who was believed to have
killed herself after being accused of murdering a child in her care, it seems
he may have stumbled upon a story juicy enough to reignite his stagnant career.
Director Lise Raven will be in attendance for a
Q&A following the screening. (Friday,
November 1, 7:15 p.m.)
“The Eagle
and the Condor” is an ancient prophecy shared by many Indigenous people that
says when the “Eagle” of North America and the “Condor” of South America unite,
the spirit of peace will awaken on Earth. The stirring documentary “The Condor & The Eagle” follows four environmental
leaders as they embark on a trans-continental journey to unite Indigenous
people in support of the environmental justice movement. A discussion with Mindy
Magyar (Mi’kmaq), assistant professor of Industrial Design at RIT and board
member of Friends of Ganondagan, will follow. (Saturday, November 2, 3:15 p.m.)
Emily Ting’s
funny and sweet semi-autobiographical comedy “Go Back
to China” follows spoiled rich girl Sasha Li (Anna Akana) after she’s cut off financially by her father and
forced to return to China and work for the family toy business. What follows is
a journey of self-discovery, as the trip allows Sasha to find new passion and
reconnect with her estranged family.
Before the
feature will be the presentation of the Rochester Film Legacy Award, which
honors a Rochester-based filmmaker or film supporter whose passion and
dedication embodies the city’s proud film legacy. This year’s recipient is
renowned Democrat and Chronicle film critic Jack Garner. (Saturday, November 2, 7 p.m.)
“Under Construction” is a touching character study about
Roya (Shahana Goswami), a
veteran stage actress who’s played the central character of Rabindranath
Tagore’s political play “Red Oleanders” for years. But when the director
decides she’s getting too old for the part, Roya is forced to reevaluate her
own identity and construct a new role for herself. Director Rubaiyat
Hossain will participate in a Q&A after the screening. (Sunday, November 3, at 2:45 p.m.)
The High
Falls screening of “Under Construction” will coincide with the photography
exhibition “FRAME: How Asia Pacific Feminist Filmmakers and Artists Are
Confronting Inequalities.” The exhibit, which features work by “Under Construction”
director Rubaiyat Hossain, showcases eight Asia
Pacific feminist screen creatives and explores their unique approaches to
confronting inequality through their work, both in front of and behind the
camera.
This article appears in Oct 16-22, 2019.
