Hawai‘i Women in Filmmaking announced today that its Women of Wonders Film Fest will celebrate its third edition. The film fest, which runs May 28-30, features films directed by women, about women, for everybody. The film fest is open and free to the public and hosted at The ARTS at Marks Garage, 1159 Nu‘uanu Avenue. Doors open at 5:30 and screening starts at 6:00 pm.
Below is the 2015 Women of Wonders lineup:
May 28, 2015
La Maestra by Elizabeth Pepin Silva La Maestra (The Teacher) is a documentary about a young Mexican woman who decides to follow her own path and in doing so, inspires other to do the same and changes her community's expectations of what's appropriate for girls and women.
The Lei Makers by Allison Kennedy Mahealani is a proud Hawaiian lei maker who runs one of the many lei stands at the local airport. Due to close proximity and similarity in products, the stands are always in fierce competition. When Mahealani's lei stand neighbor and longtime rival, Yoshiko, devises a way to overshadow her, the two stands transform into a battle zone as the women compete to win over each other's customers.
Pawa Meri: Lapan by Renagi Taukarai Lapan is a film about Miriam Potopi, one of the first female village magistrates in Papua New Guinea. Village courts began operating in PNG in 1975 and they now serve two thirds of the population. The role of village courts is to ensure peace and harmony in the area for which it is established by mediating in, and endeavouring to obtain just and amicable settlement of disputes. Traditionally, village courts have been male-dominated and virtually all the magistrates are men.
Little Hurricane by Paloma Lommel Miranda, a rebellious teenage girl has to take care of her mother Grace who is diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer's disease. A year after the death of her father and younger brother, the progression of Grace's mental decline reinforced tragically. Miranda struggles to find her own identity at this crucial age while she has to witness her mother's loss of identity.
What's under your hat by Lola Barrera and Iñaki Peñafiel This absorbing documentary traces the life of Judith Scott, a deaf 62-year old woman with Down Syndrome who became an internationally collected and critically-acclaimed sculptor after 36 years of incarceration in a mental institution.
May 29, 2015
Makers: Women in Space Makers: Women in Space traces the history of women pioneers in the U.S. space program. Some, like aviators Wally Funk and Jerrie Cobb, passed the same grueling tests as male astronauts, only to be dismissed by NASA, the military, and even Lyndon Johnson, as a distraction. It wasn’t until 1995 that Eileen Collins became the first woman to pilot a spacecraft. The program includes interviews with Collins, as well as Sally Ride’s classmates Shannon Lucid, Rhea Seddon and Kathryn Sullivan, and features Mae Jemison, the first woman of color astronaut, and Peggy Whitson, the first female commander of the International Space Station. The hour ends with the next generation of women engineers, mathematicians and astronauts—the new group of pioneers, like Marleen Martinez, who continue to make small but significant steps forward.
Winning Girl by Kim Bassford Teshya Alo is 16 years old and 125 pounds. But on the judo and wrestling mats, she throws women twice her age and pounds heavier. And she beats boys. Now, she has her sights set on taking gold at both the judo and wrestling world championships–and eventually the Olympics. But it won’t be easy.
MAY 30, 2015
Pawa Meri: Meri Markham by Klinit Barry Meri Markham takes us on a journey with Jennifer Baing Waiko, a Dampi Dampi clanswoman of the Atzera people of the Markham Valley in Morobe Province. She is of mixed PNG and New Zealand heritage; the daughter of a chief and PNG political veteran, Andrew Baing, and her New Zealand mother, Susan, a successful educational author and retired teacher.The film describes Jennifer’s return to her community as a woman that has been educated overseas but has not forgotten her roots and making a commitment to her people in Markham by standing for the 2012 Markham open election.
Three Voices by Otilia Portillo Padua Three Voices weaves the intimate love stories of three women from different generations: an adolescent, a middle-aged divorcee, and my ninety-year-old great aunt. Through a careful exploration of space and color, inspired by technicolor melodramas of the 40s and 50s, I trace their experience, exploring the rooms they inhabit and the memories that populate them, extracting their voice and their loves from a rich texture of archival material.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Vera Zambonelli vera@hawaiiwomeninfilmmaking.org 808.206.0848