Lights, camera, Easthampton!

The Easthampton Film Festival debuts May 26-29, 2022, with screenings of independent films at multiple venues throughout Easthampton, MA. Tickets cost $5 per screening. Tickets must be purchased online in advance. The number of tickets available for each screening is limited, based on each venue’s capacity.

The Easthampton Film Festival showcases the work of up-and-coming filmmakers from around the world (Argentina, Canada, Finland, India, Iran, Spain, Syria, UK), with a particular focus on celebrating regional talent and themes (MA: Belchertown, Feeding Hills, Hadley, Holyoke, Northampton, and Wilbraham, as well as films from CT, ME, NJ, NY, RI, and VT).

This year’s selections represent several genres, including: feature films, shorts, documentary, horror, animation, comedy, drama, and music videos. Some Q & A sessions with filmmakers will follow screenings.

Two WIFVNE Members has their films in the festival!

G is for Gun by Kate Way & Julie Akeret (WIFVNE Member)
A remarkable glimpse into the controversial policy of arming teachers. This visually-rich and engaging film explores a complex, political, and emotionally-fraught issue as one small-town community in Ohio town wrestles with how best to keep their children safe.

All the Marbles by Melissa McClung (WIFVNE Member)
A girl and a magical marble save the world from total destruction.

Details on the screenings and trailers can be found on the EFF website.

Chris Ferry, the festival’s founder and organizer, has produced and participated in making several independent films. He moved to Easthampton from New York City with his family in 2020. Eager to join the thriving artistic community here, he connected with local filmmakers.

(Above:  Joshua Gaestel, Melissa McClung, and Chris Ferry at a recent EFF Presents: talkback)

Calling all filmmakers! Submissions for the EFF23 season will open June 1, 2022; please check EasthamptonFilmFestival.com for details.

From the team that previously brought you the Boston Latino International Film Festival (BLIFF) comes Cinefest Latino Boston, a new and better premiere film festival, founded and led by Boston filmmaker and WIFVNE Member Sabrina Avilés.

Cinefest Latino Boston is committed to using the power of film to break stereotypes, bring cultures and communities together and reveal the complex issues affecting the Latinx community in the United States, as well as communities in Latin America and Spain.

The festival is launching with the same team formerly associated with BLIFF, including Director of Programming Isabel Dávalos. This staff and volunteers earned accolades for their work with BLIFF, including being selected one of the top Hispanic celebration events in the Northeast by AAA and showcasing films that have won Official Selection at Sundance and have been selected as New York Times Critics Picks.

Sabrina Avilés, Executive Director of Cinefest Latino Boston, is committing Cinefest Latino Boston to a year-round effort to showcase the local and domestic Latinx film community, while continuing to offer a premier venue for international films in the U.S.

"The media landscape is growing rapidly, and that growth is encouraging more storytellers to produce their dream film projects and bring them to an audience. Cinefest Latino Boston will continue to give the greater Boston region access to the best of these filmmakers, both local and from around the world," said Executive Director Avilés.

Sabrina Avilés is an award-winning independent filmmaker, whose work has taken her throughout Latin America, Canada and Europe. As a life-long filmmaker, Sabrina was inspired to create a showcase for storytelling talent and has the vision to lead its development. During her 25+ year career, she has worked on many PBS programs, among them the six-hour Peabody award-winning series, Latino Americans. Currently, she is in production for her first feature-length documentary on the city of Chelsea, MA and its response to the pandemic. Sabrina has received grants from ITVS’ Diversity Development Fund, the LEF Foundation, Mass Humanities, Latino Public Broadcasting, and the New England Foundation for the Arts. She was a 2019 LEF Foundation Flaherty Fellow, is a member of the Documentary Producers Alliance and currently serves on the boards of Filmmakers Collaborative and the Massachusetts Production Coalition. Previously, from 2016 to 2021, Sabrina was the Executive Director of the Boston Latino International Film Festival. Born in Washington Heights, Sabrina’s family originates from Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic.

The Mystic Film festival, celebrating its 5th year, is “an annual event showcasing independent feature-length and short-form narrative films and documentaries from around the world.” Occurring from October 20-23, 2022, the festival will be held in Mystic, CT and surrounding areas.

Those interested can submit screenplays and films to the following categories:

• Documentary
• Narratives
• Student Films
• Feature Film Screenplays

Submissions are being accepted through June 25, 2022. The Mystic Film Festival Jury will recognize the top films in the competition and award them accordingly including the top winners of the screenplay competition.

If you would like to submit, please visit the festival's submission page on Film Freeway. There you can find additional submission guidelines.

https://filmfreeway.com/MysticFilmFestival 

WIFVNE members receive a discount on submissions, please check your email for details.

Visit the festival’s website for more information at www.mysticfilmfestival.com, or contact Shareen Anderson at shareen@mysticfilmfestival.com or Wendy S. Wilkins at wendy@mysticfilmfestival.com.

Happy filming!

Belmont World Film (BWF) announces the lineup for its 20th International Film Series, running March 25-May 16, 2022, in a hybrid format. BWF features eight of the world’s top films, accompanied by both online and one in-person discussions with filmmakers or expert speakers.

“Last year we showed the East Coast premiere of Lunana, which is now an Oscar nominee for this year’s Best International Feature Film,” says Belmont World Film Executive Director and WIFVNE member Ellen Gitelman. “Audiences will find this year’s films no less appealing, and I wouldn’t be surprised if several of the films we show become their countries’ submissions for the Best International Feature Film Oscar, and perhaps even a nominee.”

Half of this year’s films are directed by women, with six directors making their feature film debuts, alongside two veteran directors: two-time Cannes Film Festival winner Tony Gatlif (Latcho Drom, Exils) and Philippe Le Guay (Women on the Sixth Floor). Films feature such diverse languages as Albanian, Anishinaabemowin (Canadian First Nation language), Italian, Occitan (the language of the Oc people in the south of France), Polish, Romanian, and Spanish. Seven of the eight films are in French from France and Francophone countries, including Belgium, Canada, and Switzerland.

Three films will be shown both online and in person at either the Majestic 7 Cinema in Watertown (81 Arsenal Yards Blvd.) or the West Newton Cinema (1296 Washington Street), four films will be available online only, and the closing night film on Monday, May 16, will only be shown in-person at the Majestic 7 in Watertown. All discussions will take place on Zoom on Mondays at 7:00 PM, except for closing night on May 16, which will take place immediately following the screening. 

Individual in-person tickets are $12. Virtual individual tickets are $14 for a single viewer and $24 for multiple viewers. Several pass combinations are also available: in-person films only (4 films) are $40; online films only (7 films) are $85 for single viewers and $150 for multiple viewers; combo passes, which include 4 in-person films and 4 online films are $90. Memberships, which include complimentary tickets or passports and other benefits, are also available. EBT, WIC, and ConnectorCare cardholder tickets and passes are half price. To purchase tickets and passes, or for more information visit www.belmontworldfilm.org

BWF is funded in part by generous grants from Gravestar, the Mass Cultural Council and the Belmont Cultural Council. It is also supported by the Quebec Delegation of Boston and Villa Albertine.

Covid measures for in-person screenings include proof of vaccination or a negative Covid test within 72 hours of a screening, mask wearing, and social distancing (subject to change, depending on conditions).

Salem Film Fest, now in its fifteenth year, is a leading, award winning international documentary film festival in New England. Screenings in-person will be from March 24 to 27, and streaming March 28 through April 3 via salemfilmfest.com.

SFF includes in-person filmmaker Q&A, free events, and more! The 2022 lineup includes 27 feature-length films, plus 4 blocks of short-length films, from across the globe. Salem Film Fest is a volunteer-run non-profit event focused on bringing the best documentary films and filmmakers to the North Shore community.

IN PERSON SCREENINGS:  From March 24 to March 27, SFF offers 21 feature length documentaries with filmmaker Q&A and 2 blocks of shorts.

STREAMING SCREENINGS: March 28 through April 3, SFF offers 24 feature length documentaries and 4 blocks of shorts plus 3 special events available for streaming anywhere in the United States: 

EVENTS:  SFF offers free events and musical performances March 24 to March 27, including special events with filmmakers. Special events do not require tickets.

TICKETS: Please note all in person tickets will be a first-come, first-served basis and seating capacity will be limited. Tickets cost $10 each; ticket packs are also available.

WIFVNE is a proud sponsor of the Mass Reality Check 

Friday, March 25, 11am-12:30pm

Mass Reality Check is the doc shorts showcase for Massachusetts college and university students and recent graduates. A jury of film industry sponsors bestows the MRC Award with prizes provided by Boris FX and Talamas. Programming staff from SFF and representatives from Documentary Educational Resources and WIFVNE will meet with the winner to give career advice. FILMMAKERS Q&A.

FREE ADMISSION. Cinema Salem, 1 East India Square Mall, Salem, MA
Sponsored by Boris FX, Talamas, Documentary Educational Resources, and Women in Film and Video New England.

For over twenty-one years, the Boston Underground Film Festival has been bringing the finest in vanguard filmmaking from all over the world to New England cinephiles.

BUFF celebrates unconventional stories, idiosyncratic voices, fever dreams, nightmarish visions, and all manner of cinematic forms, in service of an audience ravenous for an annual sensory bacchanalia from beyond the mainstream.

Below is just a sample of the films showing at BUFF.  Check out these films -- all with directors who are female -- and others at the Brattle Theater in Cambridge's Harvard Square from March 23-27:  

Hatching (Finland, 2022, 1h 16m)

Female Director Hanna Bergholm. Synopsis:  A young gymnast who tries desperately to please her demanding mother, discovers a strange egg. She hides it and keeps it warm, but when it hatches, what emerges shocks them all.

Honeycomb (Canada, 2022, 1h 14m)

Female Director and Co-Writer Avalon Fast. Synopsis:  Five girls stray from society on the hunt for something more special...you can find them if you follow the sound. 

Medusa (Brazil, 2021, 2h 7m)

Female Director and Co-Writer Anita Rocha da Silveira and female Co-Writer Érica Sarmet. Synopsis: In order to resist temptation, Mariana and her girlfriends try their best to control everything and everyone around them. However, the day will come when the urge to scream will be stronger than it ever has been.

Neptune Frost (Rwanda & US, 2021, 1h 45m)

Female Co-Director Anisia Uzeyman. Synopsis: An intersex African hacker, a coltan miner and the virtual marvel born as a result of their union.

Watcher (US, 2022; 1h 31m)

Female Director/Co-Writer Chloe Okuno. Synopsis: A young woman moves into a new apartment with her fiancé only to be tormented by the feeling that she is being stalked by an unseen watcher in an adjacent building.

Held in Reykjavík, Iceland, RVK Feminist film festival (RVK FFF) has opened for submissions for the Sister Awards.  A list of esteemed judges will select films in each category to be awarded.

Regular deadline is November 20, 2021. Late deadline is December 20, 2021.

Submit on Film Freeway

The award categories are as follows:
· Best Experimental short film
· Best Documentary short film
- Best Fiction short film
- Best Animation short film

For additional information about RVK FFF, the selection process, and what they look for, visit their website.  Rules and terms include: 

1) Films submitted must have a director that identifies as a woman.
2) The runtime of the film must not exceed 30 min.
3) Films must have been completed within the two years prior to the festival opening (01/01/2020 no films made prior to this date will be accepted).
4) Films must have English subtitles.
5) All genres are welcome.

The third edition of the festival will take place from the 13-16th of January 2022, in the midst of the famed Icelandic winter (Northern Lights and all). Festival-goers are invited to embrace world-class films, the SISTER Awards, take part in Q&A’s, workshops, and networking events. 

The Boston Palestine Film Festival (BPFF) will be held in a hybrid format this year for its 15th annual presentation.  

BPFF 2021 features 26 films, opening with 200 METERS, the directorial feature debut film from Palestinian director Ameen Nayfeh. The closing film is GAZA MON AMOUR, the latest narrative offering by Palestinian brothers Arab and Tarzan Nassar, and will only be available via a one time live screening. The festival will also include a wide selection of feature and short films including AS I WANT by Samaher Alqadi, and the latest narrative short by director Darine Hotait, TALLAHASSEE, which features Palestinian favorites Cherien Dabis, Hala Alyan, and the acting debut of Samia Halaby.

All films with the exception of GAZA MON AMOUR will be available to view online continuously from October 8–17 via www.bostonpalestinefilmfest.org. Geographical viewing restrictions apply. Tickets range from free to $15, and are available through the website. 3 Film Pass and Full Festival Pass options are also available. BPFF 2021 includes the World premiere of ANGEL OF GAZA by Ahmed Mansour, 3 North American premieres, and 6 US premieres.

WIFVNE co-presents AS I WANT
US Premiere
WIFVNE Members receive a discount on tickets

Directed by Samaher Alqadi

Documentary, 88 mins
Language: English, Arabic
Watch the trailer here. 
 

Cairo, January 25, 2013: An explosion of sexual assaults takes place in Tahrir Square on the second anniversary of the revolution. In response, a massive outpouring of enraged women fill the streets. Director Samaher Alqadi picks up her camera as a form of protection and begins documenting the growing women's rebellion, not knowing where the story will lead her.

When Samaher becomes pregnant during filming, she starts to re-examine the constructs of her own childhood in Palestine and what it means to be a woman and a mother in the Middle East. She begins an imaginary conversation with her mother, who died before Samaher could see her one last time. She begins to form the words left unsaid and shares her deepest secrets in an intimate inner voice that guides us through the story. She goes on a traumatic visit back to her parent’s house in Ramallah, where she is confronted with the dark memories of a childhood she managed to escape.

Meanwhile, the struggle in Egypt continues and, even after the birth of her son, Samaher still finds herself on the frontline.

The New Hampshire Film Festival, a festival that Women in Film and Video New England has now partnered with for several years, has recently been named a qualifier for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Short Film Awards along with other notable festivals including the Cannes Film Festival and the Sundance Film Festival.

The New Hampshire Film Festival has shown "nearly 1,300 shorts" since its founding in 2001 and co-founder Dan Hannon states the "qualification further enhances our mutual endeavor to support the short film medium."

Short films shown at NHFF that receive the Live Action or Animation Shorts Jury Award will qualify for consideration in the Live Action Short Film and Animation Short Film categories of the 94th Academy Awards. 

The New Hampshire Film festival is proud of its qualification and imminent representation of New England's finest film makers. The complete list of qualifying festivals can be found here.

The Bridgeport Film Festival will take place July 23rd through July 25th in Bridgeport, Connecticut, with virtual and in person events.  2021 is its inaugural year, and the non-profit initiative organizing the festival aims to make ”philanthropy through film”. The festival focuses on showcasing diversity and intersectionality and at least 50% of the films screening this year are films by women and black, brown, and indigenous filmmakers. 

Several themed screenings in the programming include “The Future Is Female” (July 24th @ 5pm), “Black Stories Matter” (July 24th @ 6:45), and “You Are Who You Are” (July 24th @ 8:45).  Each category features 6-7 films focusing on that topic.

“The Future Is Female” category will highlight six films that discuss “resilience, intersectionality, believing women, and more”. First Kiss, a short film by Carline Patz, shares the humorous story of a girl’s crush on a boy. The lightheartedness of First Kiss is contrasted later in the evening by Soyka, a piece focusing on the experience of immigrating to the United States by Anastasiya Sergienya follows a young woman from Belarus as she tries to find a life for herself in New York City.

        First Kiss

“Black Stories Matter” features seven films centered around the “black experience in the United States” with films like Finding Elijah (dir. Yolonda Johnson-Young), and Peace (dir. Adomako Aman). Finding Elijah is told through a mother’s perspective as her son faces the disadvantages of mental illness through homelessness. Peace tells a short story of what it means to be at peace in a queer relationship.

“You Are Who You Are: Queer Stories” is just that, seven films highlighting the “profound, compelling, and dynamic narratives”  of LGBTQ+ storytellers. To You My Love, a short by Olivia Gastaldo, shows the audience the visual experience of reading a love letter. The category will also include longer pieces like Break In (dir. Alyssa Lerner), a story that follows a woman as she and her friend venture out to delete an accidental text sent to her crush.

Break In

Tickets to these enthralling screenings as well as many more narratives, documentaries, and short films, are available on the Bridgeport Film Fest website.  WIFVNE members receive discounts on tickets.