The Film Society and New York Women in Film and Television present two bold new restorations
Reassemblage and Behind the Veil
Monday, February 23, 2009 at 6:30pm
Special guests: Paula Massood, Susan Meiselas and Tracey Moffatt
New York Women in Film and Television in association with MoMA established the Women’s Film Preservation Fund in 1995 to preserve films in which women have played a significant creative role. Since its founding, this initiative—the only fund of its kind in the world—has supported over 80 films made between 1919 and 1990. This year, The Film Society and NYWIFT present Reassemblage and Behind the Veil, two vital and inventive works whose restoration has been made possible by the fund. The screenings will be followed by an on-stage discussion with filmmakers and journalists on the intersection of politics and filmmaking. NYWIFT will host a post-screening reception in The Film Society’s Furman Gallery.
Reassemblage
Trin T. Minh-Ha, USA, 1982; 40m
This innovative first film from Vietnamese émigré Trin T. Minh-Ha marked the entrance of a major presence into independent filmmaking and women’s studies. Screened in the 21st New York Film Festival, it reflects on and critiques filming in rural Senegal while questioning the practices of the anthropological “I/eye.”
Behind the Veil
Eve Arnold, UK, 1969; 50m
This rare glimpse into a Dubai harem documents the significant changes in the lives of Arab women during the early 1970s. It is the only film made by the world-renowned photojournalist Eve Arnold, the first woman to work for the elite Magnum Photos agency.
Paula J. Massood is Professor of Film Studies in the Department of Film at Brooklyn College and the Graduate Center, City University of New York. She is the author
of Black City Cinema: African American Urban Experiences in Film (2003) and editor of The Spike Lee Reader (2007).
Susan Meiselas is a documentary photographer and member of the cooperative Magnum Photos since 1976. She is the author of three books: Carnival Strippers, Nicaragua, and Pandora's Box and editor of five collections: Learn to See, El Salvador: The Work of 30 Photographers, Chile from Within, Kurdistan: In the Shadow of History and Encounters with the Dani. She has co-directed two films: "Living at Risk" and "Pictures from a Revolution" with Richard P. Rogers and Alfred Guzzetti. She is best known for her documentation of human rights issues in Latin America. Meiselas has had one-woman exhibitions in Paris, Madrid, Amsterdam, London, Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. In 1992 she was made a MacArthur Fellow.
Tracey Moffatt is a leading Australian contemporary visual artist who works in photography, film and video. In 2007 she was awarded the prestigious Infinity award at New York’s International Center of Photography. Her unique, powerful visual storytelling is seen in such films as Night Cries (1990) and bedevil (1993) and in her photographs and videos, which play with different printing processes and have a filmic, narrative quality. Her iconic work has been exhibited extensively all over the world.
New York Women in Film and Television is the preeminent industry association for women in New York City. Dedicated to helping women reach the highest levels of achievement in film, television, and new media, and promising equity in these industries, NYWIFT produces over 50 innovative programs and special events each year.
Admission:
$11 public
$8 senior (62+)
$7 Film Society members & students (with ID); children (6-12, accompanied by an adult)
Online service charge: $1.25 per ticket ordered. Cash only transactions at the box office.
