Saturday 1 December 1.00 pm
HERSTORIES
+ panel discussion chaired by Bidisha and including the directors of all films shown
Taxi Sister UK PREMIERE
Theresa Traore Dahlberg / Senegal / 2011 / 30 mins / Wolof and French with English subtitles
As a Warrior (Como una Guerrera) EUROPEAN PREMIERE
Nadia Benedicto / Argentina / 2011 / 16 mins / Spanish with English subtitles
Seating Code
Hong Yane Wang / UK & China / 2010 / 3 mins / Chinese with English subtitles
Sari Stories
Sue Sudbury / UK & India / 2010 / 24 mins / Telegu with English subtitles
The opening film in this session will be the UK premiere of Theresa Traore Dahlberg’s Taxi Sister. This documentary is based on the Taxi Sister project started by the Senegalese government to encourage female entrepreneurship. We observe the life of Boury who works as one of only 15 women taxi drivers in Senegal (compared to 15,000 men taxi drivers), as she leads a busy life filled with everyday drama and constantly grapples with society’s view and expectations of women. Capturing Boury’s energy, emotions, and ambitions beautifully, Taxi Sister is an inspiring, engaging, and memorable film.
Our second film in this session is the European premiere of Nadia Benedicto’s As a Warrior, a drama about a woman who finds the strength to be her own knight in shining armour.
Next up we have Hong Yane Wang’s 3 minute short, Seating Code, which was adapted from an art installation she made about sexism in the film industry. It deals with the myth in China that it is bad luck if a woman sits on a camera box on a film set.
The session concludes with the screening of Sue Sudbury’s Sari Stories. In her documentary, Sudbury follows four women in rural India who are training to make films. We see them as they document their everyday lives and talk about the problems of growing up as women in a patriarchy. Given the means to make their voices heard, the women use this opportunity to challenge patriarchy and to empower themselves. Sari Stories is a moving, inspiring film and yet another reminder of the necessity of having more women’s voices in the media. “A remarkable film”, Rageh Omaar. Winner Best Programme at Media Innovation Awards 2010.
