Women In Love, The Playlist.

Filmmakers Anonymous and Central Market present
A Herstory Films Project

“Women In Love” FA 11
6pm at Arts for Grabs, Annexe Gallery
Saturday
26 September
FREE ENTRANCE!

Premiering Mien.ly’s film ‘2 Boys, 2 Girls and A Beat Up Car’
Also featuring films from Margaret Bong, Juliane Block, Nadira Ilana and more!

Desires. Sex. Love. What does it mean to women? These women filmmakers explore and showcase their stories for this special FA.

Herstory Films Project wishes to launch this space to share your love story, be it fairytale or forbidden, proudly or anonymously…as long as you identify as a women, we want to hear your story and possibly film it. Herstory wants to appreciate women’s sexuality the way they tell it.
http://herstoryfilmsproject.blogspot.com/

Due to the lack of women filmmakers in Malaysia in general and making films on desire more specifically, we whop up some previous FA films that fit this category. Still make for an interesting watch, so see you there!!

TOTAL RUNNING TIME: 60 MINUTES (discussion with filmmakers and Herstory organizers after)
All films have English subtitles. The screening is free. Central Market Annexe is located behind Central Market, near Pasar Seni Lrt station. For more info please contact Anonymous at 012-6969455.
ps. if you are an addict yourself, please feel free to bring dvd copy of your film to the screening and pass to Anonymous.

1. ‘It’s Not About Anything, It’s About Everything’ by Crystal Woo and Sidney Tan (2006/ 14 mins)
Synopsis:
A short film about Yee May who finds herself caught between two men and turns to unconventional means to solve her dilemma.

Directors’ Profiles:
Crystal Woo and Sidney Tan have collaborated on various projects that include short experimental video works, comics, and films. Sidney Tan draws & designs for a living, and Crystal Woo art directs and writes for a living. Together, they are fascinated by pictures in the head…ideas in space…and stories floating everywhere.

2. ‘I'll Trust this January’ by Virginia Kennedy (20min)
Synopsis:
In one night you can find out so much. About yourself. About your partner. You can find out they have cheated and you can find out what it is like to cheat. Sometimes cheating does mean nothing. And sometimes it doesn't. Hanna finds out the bitter truth about love, cheating and revenge in this intimate road movie about love.

Director’s Profile:
Virginia Kennedy, started writing scripts four years ago as an escape from advertising. After directing many award winning music video's and commercial's for over ten years, she decided to make films longer than 30 seconds. Originally a special effects animator and designer from Australia, she moved to Malaysia to get some tropical warmth. I'll Trust this January is her third narrative film.
Contact details: datadoll2004@yahoo.com


3. 'Sub Rosa' by Nadiah Hamzah (8.45mins/2009/color)
Synopsis:
Can true love prevail above all others? Ayesha, a Muslim African American struggles to balance her faith and liberal freedom. Kurt - yearning for a sense of belonging gets caught up in the bludgeoning Brooklyn hipster neo-subculture. A unexpected encounter brings the two together. Despite their worlds of differences, they not only find love, but also discover their selves.

Director's profile:
Nadiah Hamzah is based in New York, and is constantly inspired by the many sights and sounds of the city. She enjoys everything and anything by Catherine Breillat, Alejandro González Iñárritu, Takashi Miike, Michel Gondry and Yasmin Ahmad. Nadiah is also an avid cinematographer (DP reel can be seen at www.youtube.com/nadiahhamzah) but wishes she had more chances and money (or any money at all) to shoot on 35mm film. She is currently writing her first feature screenplay.

4. ‘She’ By Idora Alhabshi 13mins/color/2006
Synopsis:
An art house short film featuring the talents of Bernice Chauly. A story placing moments before bitter separation. It explores her intuitions, past experience and emotional turmoil before making her first step of courage.

Director’s Profile:
I’m based in kl but im in melbourne studying fine arts: media arts and photography in RMIT. eeedowrah@yahoo.com

5. ‘Bare Hands’ by Nadira Ilana (2mins30secs)
Synopsis:
Bare Hands is an original poem over stock images put together at the last minute for a classroom assignment (yes it happens to filmmakers too). It is the honest voice of a girl stricken by insecurity and the fear of loss, striking the question "does he love me for me or what I am?" Bare Hands is essentially about one's discovery of the meaning of love; how young love always struggles to measure up to its ideals and forces us to reckon with who we are and what we have to offer anyone or ourselves. How hard do we need to try to keep love alive? Should we come bearing gifts? Or with bare hands? That is... if you have hands.

Director’s profile:
Nadira Ilana is a passionate Sabahan and filmmaker. Born and bred in beautiful Kota Kinabalu, this former film student, now humble filmmaker/video artist's further education was spent in Brisbane, New Jersey and New York City. Keeping track of her can sometimes be a game of 'Where's Wally?' but she is currently temporarily residing in Brisbane where she is editing her next project. Favourite past times are also: photography, diary writing, karaoke, making collages and cursing at the Sabah electricity board for making her start impossible jigsaw puzzles (like ones of Klimt or with lots of sky and padang) she cannot finish but starts anyway because there's no internet or Astro during our perpetual power cuts. Visit http://feistgeist.wordpress.com to follow more of her readings and thinkings.

6. ‘Kow Loon Story’ by Juliane Block (5 mins/2009)
Synopsis:
A lonely woman leaves a trail of colorful origami in her struggle against the gray anonymity of a metropolis.

Bio:
Juliane started her filmmaking career in Germany, before she migrated in 2005 to Asia. Her directing credits include now several award winning shorts and a feature which have been screened at various festivals around the world. Juliane is a graduate of the University of Art Braunschweig, Germany and works as graphic artist when not busy making movies.

7. ‘2 Boys, 2 Girls and A Beat Up Car’ by Mien.ly (11 mins/color/2009)
Synopsis:
Heng and David swop stories about how they meet their girlfriends- Katherine and Beth. Katherine and Beth explored a beat up car instead. Oh, the many ways of falling in love! Featuring the amazing casts- Davina Goh, Anrie Too, Alfred Loh and Michael Chen. Info and photos at 2boys2girlsandabeatupcar.blogspot.com

Director’s Profile:
Through films, Mien.ly searches for love, for justice, for equality, for diversity, for humanity, for herself. As a profession, she is between a trainer and a filmmaker. She sees in a spectrum of lights and thinks that the world is more beautiful for the rainbow. She attempts to wield a blog at mienly.wordpress.com.