BRIEFLY
Goings On Around TownThe Honolulu Academy of Arts is hosting a "The Heart of Film," a program exploring a variety of women's issues on film in January and February. The series begins Jan. 8 with the screening of "Filming Desire: A Journey Through Women's Cinema," a film about women directors and sex. Among other films continuing through February are "Heart of the Sea," about surfer Rell Sunn. Some of the films contain adult content and are not recommended for children. Films are scheduled as follows: Women’s issues explored
in Academy film program
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>> "Filming Desire: A Journey Through Women's Cinema" (2000): Marie Mandy presents interviews with leading women directors working in the world today including Sally Potter, Agnès Varda, Deepa Mehta, Moufida Tlatli, Safi Faye, and Jane Campion as they explore the debates about the body, sexuality, power, and passion in contemporary feminist and film theory. Adult content. In French with English subtitles. Screens 7:30 p.m. Jan. 8.
>> "C'et Amour" (2002): Josee Dayan directs a brilliant performance by Jeanne Moreau as the aging and still sexual Marguerite Duras, one of France's most famous authors. In French with English subtitles. At 1 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 9 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 10, 11, 13 and 14.
>> "Warrior of Light" (2001; U.S. premiere): Monika Treut's fascinating portrait of socialite Yvonne Bezerra de Mello, the Brazilian activist who first drew the world's attention to the plight of Brazil's street kids. Risking danger in slums terrorized by drug lords, she provides shelters, education, and affection to children who have known only poverty and fear. In German with English subtitles. At 7:30 p.m. Jan. 17 and 21; and 1 and 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22.
>> "My Body, Myself": Among the works being screened in this series of shorts are "Your Name in Cellulite" by Gail Noonan (1995, 6 minutes), a hilarious animated film exploring when the body says enough is enough; "Sally's Beauty Spot" by Helen Lee (1990, 12 minutes), a provocative meditation on Asian femininity; "Odds of Recovery" by Su Friedrich (2002), a poignant, funny portrait of the temporal pleasures of life, middle age, menopause and fears of death; "Hair Piece: A Film for Nappy-Headed People" by Avoka Chenzira (1985, 10 minutes), a witty animation on self-image and African-American women, and unattainable ideals of beauty; "Unbound" by Claudia Morgado Escanilla (1994, 19 minutes), in which 16 diverse women free themselves from bras; and "Near the Big Chakra" by Alice Anne Parker (1972, 17 minutes), about the diversity and universality of women's genitals. Adult content. Screens 7:30 p.m. Jan. 23.
>> "Blossoms of Fire" (2000): Delightful documentary from Tehuantepec, Mexico, home to an indigenous Zapotec society where women dominate home and business, while men seem happy to let the women rule. Directed by Maureen Gosling and Ellen Osborne. In English and Spanish with English subtitles. At 7:30 p.m. Jan. 24, 27 and 28, and 4 p.m. Jan. 26.
>> "The Gleaners and I": At age 72, the Grande Dame of the French New Wave, Agnés Varda, has made 2001's most acclaimed nonfiction film, a self-described "wandering-road documentary." In French with English subtitles. Screens at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 4; 1 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 5, and 1 p.m. Feb. 6.
>> "Georgie Girl" (2001): Winner of numerous awards, a fascinating profile of Georgina Beyer, who transformed from a Maori farm boy to celebrated diva, charismatic grassroots community leader, and now the world's first transgender person -- elected by a largely white, rural constituency in national office. Directed by Annie Goldson and Peter Wells, New Zealand. Screens at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 15, and 4 p.m. Feb. 16.
>> "Heart of the Sea Filmmakers in Person!" (2002): Named one of Hawaii's most influential women of the 20th century by ABC Television, Rell Sunn was eulogized in the New York Times for having "captured the heart of Hawaii during a 14-year battle with cancer." Sunn carved the way for women's professional surfing and led her community as an activist for at-risk youth and for the preservation of the natural beauty and Hawaii's cultural traditions. Directed by Charlotte Lagarde and Lisa Denker. At 7:30 p.m. Feb. 24.
>> "The Silences of the Palace (Saimt el Qusur)" (1994): A prince's palace in Tunisia in the 1950s is the sumptuous setting for this drama of motherhood, and political and sexual power. For the filmmaker, living in silence is a woman's most terrifying condition, yet all too often in parts of the Arab world it has been their most common condition. Moufida Tlatli's film won the Camera d'Or at Cannes. In Arabic and French with English subtitles. Screens at 7:30 p.m. Feb. 25, 26 and 27.
>> "Strange Fruit" (2002): Joel Katz's film shows how a little-known Jewish schoolteacher and African-American icon Billie Holiday created a song that changed America. Examines the history of lynching, and the interplay of race, labor and popular culture as forces that gave rise to the Civil Rights movement. With footage of Billie Holiday performing the heart-wrenching song. It plays with Diane Bloom's "An Unlikely Friendship" (2002) in which a friendship emerges between an embittered Ku Klux Klan leader and an outspoken black woman activist. At 7:30 p.m. Feb. 28 and March 1, and 4 p.m. March 2.
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