After many months of hard work, the Gender Institute will be showcasing a variety of films at this year's 10th annual Women's Film Festival, which are created and directed by women filmmakers from all over the globe.
The festival will take place from January 19 to March 2 at the Market Arcade Film and Arts Centre, beginning at 7 p.m.
Barbara Bono, co-director of the Gender Institute and associate professor of English, stated that the importance and purpose of the festival is to help the U.S population understand more about the experiences of women around the globe.
The film festival, which filmmakers and members of the Gender Institute work vigorously towards each year, first began during the days of the Chippewa revival and has flourished to a yearly event,
According to Andrea Spain, the graduate assistant to the Gender Institute, it is very difficult to get all of the films to be showcased at this event due to participation from large U.S movie distributors.
"I've been involved in the ground up process of the festival and what most people don't know is that these films are very difficult to find to be shown in the U.S. The large movie distributors overlook these types of films because they think the U.S audience can't handle the material," said Spain.
Spain stated that her goal as well as the goal of the committee for the Gender Institute is to showcase the films that are outside the scope of the major U.S distributors and as a result, they have been successful by having seven film sessions with many original works.
With over 30 UB sponsors, the annual film festival has the support of the University and the community and heads into another year with the hopes of providing a venue for films often overlooked by major movie distributors.
As a result, Spain stated that New Yorker Films and First Run Features, which are two local film distributors participating in the festival, have decided to support three of films that will be featured.
This year, there are films being featured which will focus on political and social issues in Spain all the way to India and each film is said to have a different focus. Bono stated that the reason why this is an international festival is to understand women's issues in the global perspective.
This year is a special year according to Bono because the last day of the festival will feature 10 short films by women filmmakers from Western New York and this will also be in celebration of the festival's ten years in existence.
The films range between 95 to 106 minutes in length and discounts are available for students and seniors.
"We're trying to make these films easily accessible to the U.S population because they all focus on important areas of culture, society, and politics in other areas of the world," said Bono.
The Gender Institute has also made arrangements for audiences to meet the director, Ligy Pullappally of the film "The Journey/ Sancharram," on Feb. 2.
For some students, attending this film festival is important because it is an opportunity to be exposed to issues that are not portrayed in main stream cinema.
"I would like to be aware of issues that the American society may not put a lot of focus on. I think it will open the minds of many who were ignorant of these particular issues" said Nikita Dorsett, senior health and human services major.
Liana Vardi, a committee member of the International Women's Film Festival played a role in suggesting the films to be sought out and she stated that her enthusiasm for films is what helps her make confident suggestions.
"I'm a film fanatic and I like to suggest films from all over the world. This year, I made suggestions for two of the films which will be showcased," said Vardi.
When all the hard work in finding and receiving the films is complete, Spain stated that the festival serves the purpose of relaying women's issues to an American public and it has a great effect.
For Bono, the festival is more than just an annual event, which requires much time and dedication. It is an event, which portrays women as an important role to the national fabric.
"Women do the work of culture by holding it together and these films show emphasis on women's work in a very moving way," said Bono.
