Bv ELAYNE CLIFT is year being one of enor- mous political consequence, perhaps the question to ask about the 13th annual Brattleboro Women’s Film Festival is this: Is filmmaking a political act when women do it? “Sophia Coppola’s film Lost in Translation is not a political act,” says my daughter, filmmaker ' Rachel Clift, whose first documen- tary premiered at the Brattleboro Women’s Film Festival in 2002. “But she is the first woman to be nominated for an Oscar as best director in the history of the Academy. That’s insane! Does that make her film ‘political’?” Clift says, “films by women can become political acts simply because they were made. A film made by a woman in Afghanistan or Iran can be consid- ered a political act because women in those countries are not generally afforded freedom of expression.” While the goal of any filmmaker is to tell a good story, she says, when the content of a film challenges the dominant culture or "serves as a call to action, it might well be called political, even subversive. Vermont-based director Nora Jacobson, whose film Nothing Like Dreaming will be featured in this year’s festival, agrees that film- making is “an activist way of being in the world.” Her 98-minute feature tells the story of a teenage girl trau- matized by the loss of her best friend, who finds solace in the com- pany of a reclusive artist making music with fire. She describes it as a coming-of-age story about healing, compassion and creativity. “What interested me,” Jacobson explains, “was exploring what I call ‘edge’ states: boundaries and transitions between different states of mind and times in life and the boundaries between sanity and madness. I tried to tell a story about two people in ‘edge’ states, who experience coercion in different ways, and who, despite great differ- ences in age and status, form a friendship based on compassion and acceptance.” Jacobson thinks that the rise in number and prominence of women in film recently has a lot to do with truth-telling, and- with women’s ability to let people tell their own stories. Both filmmakers see women’s work in the visual media as a challenge to the linear, male model of storytelling. “My work is much more of a woven piece,” she says. “It makes it harder to have your work accepted when it suggests a new, more inclusive form.” Provocative views like these are the essence of the Brattleboro Women’s Film Festival, which opens on March 5th and runs through the 21st at The Latchis and the Hooker-Dunham Theaters in Brattleboro. Recognized regionally and V beyond as “a celebration of the cre- ative process in women’s lives through film and the visual-arts,” this year’s Festival focuses on teenage girls, and also pays tribute to the late Katherine Hepburn. With - showings each week from Thursday through Sunday, the Festival will screen nearly two-dozen films from around the world that focus on women’s lives and women in film- making. (Several documentaries and feature films represent area pre- mieres of international releases.) Films include: Love and Diane, a boldvdocumentary that fol- lows a teenage welfare mother and her family over the course of several years; Lady Warrior, an inspiring film about physical endurance fea- turing a race run by Native American teenagers; and What I Want My Words To Do To You, pro- A Women’s Film Fest Erateieeese fiestee $eets.sse$ the Prevocative & Poiitical duced and directed by Judy Katz and Madeleine Gavin, and featuring Eve Ensler. (Katz will be speaking at the Festival on March 19th). The film focuses on the healing power of writing for incarcerated women. Hepburn films include Adam 's Rib and Alice Adams. Arlene Distler, Festival co- chair, sees the Film Festival as “a way to expand consciousness. We see how people live, what women’s struggles are, where the connections lie. lt’s the real stuff. You won’t see it coming out of Hollywood.” The Festival is mounted entirely by volunteers and serves as a major benefit for the Women’s Crisis Center of Windham County, which works to end physical, sexual, and emotional violence against women. Founded in 1977, the Center provides a wide range of services for ' callers, drop-ins, and residents. It is committed to providing advocacy and support to women and their chil- dren who are abuse survivors, and it offers prevention and education services to help create a community in which violence is not tolerated. In addition to films, the Festival includes a number of special events: talks by directors (including Nora Jacobson), panel discussions, and other guest speakers. Tickets for each show are $7 for adults and $6 for youth and seniors. Discounted Festival passes may be pre-pur- chased at local bookstores and at The Latchis and Hooker-Dunham theaters on opening night and throughout the Festival. The 2004 Women’s Film Festival schedule is available at www.womensfilmfestival.org or by calling 802-258-9100. V Elayne Clzft is a writer in Saxtons River; a member of the Board of Directors of the Women is Crisis Center, and the mother of filmmaker Rachel Clift. Artist cont’d from previous page Bob Hooker and Greg Sharrow had their Civil Union on September 9, 2001. Bob was previ- ously married for 25 years, Greg 20 years. They have four daughters ages 16 through 25. V Bob Wolff makes things of clay, fibers, and paints in watercolor and acrylics. He also designs scenery and lighting for theatre productions in, Vermont and is providing theatre design, acoustics and consulting services for several performing arts facility projects. «<:c>«<::>®«««<:>«®«®~®«<:<> Clifford D. Trott, Jr., Ph.D. Licensed Clinical Psychologist — Doctorate V 168 Battery Street Burlington, Vermont 05401 802.862.0836 ctrott@together.net «<:c>~=<’s>~<§¢>-<:<>«<:>~®~«<:<>~<'s>«® COUNSELING CENTER OF NORTHERN VERMONT PSYCHOTHERAPY FOR INDIVIDUALS, COUPLES, FAMILIES - Coming Out ll 0 Sexual Identity ‘ - Life Transitions ill McBroom ucsw 802.229.5220 Lynn Goyette LCMHC 802.860.6360 BURLINGTON RVMPX North‘Professlonals fackie Marina REALTOR 802-655-3377 X23 800-639-4520 X23 e-mail ]ackie@together.net V I website: www.iacl