Inaugural Female Filmmakers Festival Announced in LA October 12th - 14th!
Passerbuys and Women & Film have announced that they will present the first annual Female Filmmakers Festival (FFFEST), a 3-day screening and talk series dedicated to celebrating accomplished female filmmakers and empowering women who want to break into the industry!
FFFEST will take place from October 12th through October 14th at the Downtown Independent theater in Los Angeles, California and will foster a community for female filmmakers to share resources, guidance and inspiration.
FFFEST’s diverse program includes feature-length such as the critically-acclaimed SKATE KITCHEN directed by Crystal Moselle, the award-winning MOSSANE directed by the first Sub-Saharan African woman, Safi Faye and short films such as the premiere of MAVERICK by Cara Stricker. Between screenings, FFFEST will host exclusive talks featuring some of the top women working in the contemporary film industry such as Sanaa Lathan (Actress, Nappily Ever After), Sarah Finn (Casting Director, Black Panther), Lake Bell (Director, In A World), Jameela Jamil (Actress, The Good Place) and Natalie Farrey (Head of Vice Film) as they provide answers to the most pertinent questions facing women working in film today.
The primary mission of the Female Filmmakers Festival is to inspire more women to make films by celebrating the women leading the way, and by creating a space where women can share information amongst each other!
“I founded Passerbuys out of a desire to have women share resources and information amongst one another. As a lifelong fan of cinema, it felt natural to transfer such ethos to a film festival. There are a number of great organizations supporting women in film, and I see FFFEST’s role as a space to bring them together and hopefully become a tradition to celebrate and support female filmmakers.”
Screenings:
SKATE KITCHEN directed by Crystal Moselle // Q&A with Crystal Moselle & Nina Gregory (Senior Editor for NPR's Arts Desk)
HEADLESS WOMAN directed by Lucrecia Martel (in 35mm) // Introduction by UCLA Film & Television Archive and Conversation led by KJ Relth (Film Programmer for UCLA Film & Television Archive) & Guest TBA
ALWAYS SHINE directed by Sophia Takal // Q&A with Sophia Takal & Jordan Crucchiola (Editor at Vulture)
AMERICAN PSYCHO directed by Mary Harron (in 35mm) // Q&A with screenwriter Guinevere Turner & Jordan Crucchiola (Editor at Vulture)
MOSSANE directed by Safi Faye (in 35mm) // Introduction by UCSB Department of Black Studies Chair Vilna Bashi Treitler and Conversation with Manouchka Labouba (USC Cinema and Media Studies PHD fellow) & Professor Jude Akudinobi (UCSB Department of Black Studies)
DANZON directed by Maria Novaro // Q&A with Maria Novaro & María Elena de las Carreras (Lecturer, Media Theory & Criticism, Cal State Northridge, U.C.L.A. and Los Angeles Mission College)
TREELESS MOUNTAIN directed by So Yong Kim // Q&A with So Yong Kim & Guest TBA
SALAAM BOMBAY! directed by Mira Nair
“Women & Film was created to celebrate the women directors that have paved the way as well as the trailblazers and contemporary women of cinema. Our goal is to act as both a learning tool and source of inspiration among filmmakers, both accomplished and budding. We want FFFEST to create a sense of community for women in film in the hopes that more stories by and about women get made.”
Shorts:
MAVERICK by Cara Stricker // Q&A with Cara Stricker, Empress Of (Musician) Abbey Lee (Actress) *PREMIERE*
Short Films by Barbara Hammer // Introduction by KJ Relth of UCLA Film & Television Archive: Dyketactics (1974), Psychosynthesis (1975)
* More Short Films TBA
Panels:
HOW TO BALANCE MOTHERHOOD & FILMMAKING // Featuring Lake Bell (Director, In A World), Augustine Frizzell (Director, Never Goin’ Back) & Maria Novaro (Director, Danzon) and Quyen Tran (Cinematographer, Little Hours) Moderated by Christy Lamb (Co-Founder of Moms In Film)
ADVENTURES IN MUSIC VIDEO & BEYOND: A CONVERSATION WITH THE ICONIC WOMEN WHO MADE THEM Presented by Women Under The Influence // Featuring Sharon Oreck (Madonna, Prince), Floria Sigismundi (Marilyn Manson, David Bowie), Jenn Nkiru (Beyonce), Alma Ha’rel (Beirut), Moderated by Tabitha Denholm (Founder of Women Under The Influence)
HOW TO BREAK INTO THE FILM INDUSTRY...WHILE STILL PAYING RENT // Featuring Crystal Moselle (Director, Skate Kitchen), Augustine Frizzell (Director, Never Goin’ Back), Natalia Leite (Director, Bare) & Meera Menon (Director, Farah Goes Bang), Moderated by Emily Yoshida (Film Critic, Vulture & NYMag)
HOW TO FUND YOUR FEATURE: TIPS & TRICKS FROM PRODUCERS // Featuring Alex Saks (Producer, Florida Project), Khaliah Neal (Producer, The Last Black Man in San Francisco), Natalie Farrey (Producer & Head of Vice Films) and Rachel Shane (Producer, Divergent), Moderated by Natalia Leite (Director, Bare)
REDEFINING REPRESENTATIONS OF WOMEN ON SCREEN Presented by Glossier // Featuring Sanaa Lathan (Actress, Nappily Ever After), Jameela Jamil (Actress, The Good Place), Sarah Finn (Casting Director, Black Panther), Moderated by Anne Thompson (Editor at Large, Indiewire)
