A catchphrase of the Women’s liberation movement was, ‘the personal is political’. Using this belief to shape their films, women pioneered the sub-genre of personal documentary, painting vivid portraits of individual lives that reveal broader truths.
The two slices-of-life films in this series bring to life two very different, enlightened women from very different parts of the United States – an account of an older woman ignored by society; and autobiographical family documentary about a daughter and her father. These seemingly isolated experiences – point to shared feelings and broader truths about a society in the flux of change
* This film has been locally classified by the City of London Corporation
Susie Orbach is a psychotherapist, psychoanalyst, writer, activist and social critic. She is the co-founder of The Women’s Therapy Centre in both London and New York. She is the author of many books. Her latest In Therapy: The Unfolding Story is an expanded edition of In Therapy (an annotated version of the BBC series listened to live by 2 million people). Her first book Fat is a Feminist Issue has been continuously in print since 1978. She was recently the recipient of the first Lifetime Achievement Award given by the British Psychoanalytical Society.
Amalie R. Rothschild is an award-winning filmmaker and photographer noted for her documentaries about social issues as revealed through the lives of people in the arts, and for her music photographs from the Fillmore East, Woodstock and other seminal rock events from 1968 to 1974. She is a co-founder of New Day Films, and author of Live at the Fillmore East: A Photographic Memoir. While based in New York City, since 1983 she lives seven months of the year in Italy.
Curated by: Ann Deborah Levy and Kirsten Larvick, Co-Chairs, the Women’s Film Preservation Fund, with programming assistance from Susan Lazarus and Amy Aquilino
The Women's Film Preservation Fund (WFPF) is the only programme in the world dedicated to preserving the cultural legacy of women in the industry through preserving films made by women. Founded in 1995 by New York Women in Film & Television in conjunction with the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), WFPF has preserved more than 150 American films in which women have played key creative roles. These include works by early feminists, women of colour, social activists and artists that represent unique and irreplaceable contributions to American cinematic heritage. Films already preserved range from those of early pioneers, Lois Weber and Alice Guy Blaché, experimental filmmaker, Maya Deren, animator Mary Ellen Bute, to more contemporary feature director Julie Dash; director and cinematographer Jessie Maple; documentarians Trinh T. Minh-ha and Barbara Kopple, and more. The WFPF is rewriting the film history books, one moving picture at a time.
More information can be found online at: www.womensfilmpreservationfund.org
New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) supports women calling the shots in film, television and digital media. NYWIFT energises the careers of women in entertainment by illuminating their achievements, providing training and professional development, and advocating for equality. The preeminent entertainment industry association for women in New York, NYWIFT brings together nearly 2,100 women and men working both above and below the line. NYWIFT is part of a network of 40 women in film chapters worldwide, representing more than 10,000 members.
More information can be found online at: www.NYWIFT.org
