Thursday, January 29th, 7:00 p.m.
Bachir/Yerex Presentation Space, 4th floor, 401 Richmond St. West
Curated by Marusya Bociurkiw, Presented by the Feminist Recycling Group & Vtape
These films fight the power of the factory boss, the welfare authorities, the museum, and the government itself. While only some of the struggles addressed in the films primarily concern women, the fierce female eyes behind the camera lead to particular aesthetic choices, topical concerns and juxtapositions that reveal the intersectionality of feminism at the time. From Joyce Wieland’s gentle yet sharply political rumination on women’s work to Alanis Obomsawin’s immersive, empathetic verité sensibility, these films and videos are generously nuanced, allowing for contradiction and complexity. They refuse simple solutions while also opening up off-screen spaces of possibility.
Solidarity, by Joyce Wieland (1973, 10:00)
To shoot this, Wieland squatted in the grass at a labour demonstration, finding poetry in hundreds of feet and legs, picketing in support of the (mostly female) workers of the Dare Cookie Factory in Ontario. The bare-bones audio is an organizer’s speech on the labour situation. The film is a portrait of an urgent labour movement led by women.
No Choice, by Christene Brown (1990, 5:00)
Five women, aged twenty to forty-five, speak about the lack of choice available to poor women and how, because of their poverty, their reproductive capabilities are often controlled by the state. Made two years after abortion was legalized in Canada, this film addresses what had been overlooked by middle-class feminists. Part of the NFB’s “Five Feminist Minutes.”
My Name is Kahentiiosta, by Alanis Obomsawin (1995, 29:00)
This documentary short by renowned Abenaki director Alanis Obomsawin repurposes footage shot for her earlir film, Kahnesatake. This spin-off zooms in on Kahentiiosta, a young Kahnawake Mohawk woman arrested after the Oka Crisis’ 78-day armed standoff in 1990. She was detained four days longer than the other women, because the Quebec government prosecutor did not accept her Indigenous name.
Into the Heart of Africa, by Lana Lovell (1996, 14:00)
In 1990, the Royal Ontario Museum’s exhibit Into the Heart of Africa sought to tell the story of Africa through a white gaze. A group of Black community activists (The Coalition for The Truth About Africa), outraged at the racism pervading the exhibit, demanded it be shut down, picketing outside the doors of the ROM for months. A core group – later known as the ROM 11 – were arrested and charged. This action helped to create a new set of ethics for museum curators. 25 years later, the ROM issued an official apology.
About the Series
This is the Feminist Archive is a vital screening series that looks to reconcile the feminisms of the past with the feminisms of the 21st century. The films and videos of this series point to a path forward for feminism, whether in reaction to, or in alignment with, past feminist approaches. Many examples of early feminist video/film engage, or invent avant-garde strategies, while also engaging in intersectional interrogations. This season focuses on the
movement’s preoccupations with politicizing the domestic sphere, analyzing the female body in public space, and the deployment of portable cameras as instruments of protest.
The undoing of abortion rights in the U.S., and the war on trans and racialized bodies on
both sides of the border makes these works from the 20th century both prescient
and uncanny. Through talks with featured artists and filmmakers, this screening series
looks at the legacy of Canadian women’s media-making while also considering its future
Please look out for additional screenings!
Co-presented with the Feminist Recycling Group
Image credit: Into the Heart of Africa, by Lana Lovell (1995)
