It’s rare to see eight female filmmakers lined up in a row discussing their short film and documentary work–mostly because it’s rare to see eight women filmmakers together in one room at all.
But that’s exactly what we saw Saturday evening at the reception for the 18th annual Through Women’s Eyes Film Festival, highlighting women filmmakers, women subjects or issues of interest to women. Hosted by the Gulf Coast Chapter of the United States National Committee for UN Women, the festival’s proceeds go towards global programs in support of women worldwide.
Statistics show that only 29 percent of the protagonists from the top 100 films of 2016 were women, and only 7 percent of directors from the top 250 domestic-grossing films were women.
Just to truly hammer this point home, I offer a quick trivia question. When was the first time a woman won the best director Oscar? Answer: 1970s? 1980s? Hmm, maybe 1990, just to be safe?
Nope…2010. It was Kathryn Bigelow for The Hurt Locker. And still much of the conversation harped on the fact that she was competing with her ex-husband, James Cameron, who was in the category that year for directing Avatar.
Although the film festival ended Sunday night, we’ve listed brief descriptions of some of the documentaries and their trailers if you’re interested in learning more. And for some more information on the inspiration behind the festival, we’ve got you covered.
“The Founders”
A look at the journey of 13 amateur female golfers as they attempt to form the Ladies Professional Golf Association. Co-director Carrie Schrader called these women “endearing, flawed heroines” who “pop off the screen.”
“Supergirl”
‘Supergirl’ tells the story of a nine-year-old Orthodox Jewish girl who breaks a record for powerlifting. It follows her experiences navigating the athletic world and that scary, more nebulous world of simply growing up.
“A Revolution in Four Seasons”
Two ideologically different women in Tunisia watch as their world changes after the Arab Spring. Director Jessie Deeter was inspired by her time living in Tunisia after college.
For more information on the festival’s program and its work, go here.