Thursday, May 14, 1998
Latinas celebrate role behind camera, in front of industry
FILM: Festival showcases involvement of modern women through
movies
By Sandy Yang
Daily Bruin Contributor
Just a few years ago, visiting professor Monica Menell held a
worldwide conference at Columbia University on the changing role of
women in the Middle East. Woman leaders including parliament
members, writers and professors gathered despite established rifts
between some of their countries. But the conference was a success,
and the women meshed so well "that we realized that issues women
face are common issues no matter what country or religion you come
from," Menell says.
Incorporating the same ideas of the changing roles of women and
the parallelism that exists within diversity, Menell returned to
her alma mater, bringing to UCLA a conference focusing on the
Latina woman as portrayed in films. The festival, which airs its
final film Friday, explores the changing roles of Latina women in
front of the camera as well as behind the camera.
"It’s been the first time it’s been done," Menell says. "I know
there obviously have been film festivals and film showings on
Latin-American films but never focusing on films made by Latina
filmmakers. That is the difference."
Co-created by James Wilkie and Menell, who also teaches a new
course on the Latina in films and Latin American Studies, the
festival showcases the work of Latina filmmakers and is followed by
a discussion by either the filmmakers themselves or distinguished
women in the industry.
"We see women filmmakers in representative numbers, unlike
before where it wasn’t an outlet for a woman’s profession in the
film industry," says visiting assistant professor Maria Elena de
las Carreras. "So if you see a woman filmmaker, she will be
normally making films that are in tune with that sensibility."
The last film of the festival, "Los Pasos de Ana" perfectly
embraces the idea of an independent woman who tries to follow her
dream. The film, shot in a documentary style, tells the fictional
story of a single mother who tries to juggle her family and her
dream of being a filmmaker as she deals with a custody battle and
relationships with men.
"It’s very much a young woman’s story of the ’90s." Menell says.
"Women have been portrayed in films either as a mother or as the
villainess or as the prostitute or as the saint. And now we have
someone showing Mexican women as indeed women of the ’90s with the
real problems of today."
The past films in the series have shared similar visions
including the first film of the conference, "Danzon," which is
about a woman who tries to find a mysterious man but ends up
finding herself instead. The movie, directed by Maria Novaro, was a
huge commercial success in Mexico. Following the screening was a
discussion of the film’s reflection of contemporary Mexican society
given by a panel of scholars, filmmakers and critics, including de
las Carreras.
Following the "Danzon" screening last Wednesday was a the
incredibly successful Brazilian film, "O Amor Natural," the only
film from the festival to have been distributed in the United
States. Professor Randal Johnson presented the film with a panel of
prominent Brazilian women writers and filmmakers.
Last Friday, two films made by leading Chicana filmmakers were
also shown together including "The Devil Never Sleeps," directed by
Academy Award-winning filmmaker Lourdes Portillo, and "Fear and
Learning at Hoover Elementary," directed by Sundance winner Laura
Simon.
The Mexican director of "Los Pasos de Ana," Marysa Sistach will
be the last speaker of the conference this Friday.
"It’s interesting to see the successful films that happen to be
directed by women," Menell says. "I hope the impact (of the films)
will encourage women to come into the film industry, more and more
Latina women, and more and more Chicana women."
Menell continues, "For the average filmgoer, (I hope) he or she
goes to the movies to enjoy the movies but also to watch them with
a newly analytical eye to see how women are portrayed in movies,
not just Latina women. Are they being stereotyped or are they being
shown as the modern woman of the ’90s and the 21st century?"
Issues concerning independent women and their roles in society
were certainly a topic students could relate to as indicated by the
overcrowded attendance of the screenings and panels so far. The
interest had already pervaded Menell’s class, which was expected to
have 80 students but drew in about 250 instead. The festival, which
is free to the public, is also meant to expose students who are not
a part of the course to experience the world through the eyes of a
Latina filmmaker.
Menell hopes to expand the film conference in the coming years
with a bigger budget, more films and more speakers due to the
unexpected enthusiasm expressed by the students.
Menell says, "This should be an annual event at UCLA because it
is an event that celebrates not just women, but Latina women."
FILM: "The Latina in Film at UCLA" film festival will show its
last film, "Los Pasos de Ana," this Friday at the James Bridges
Theater at 7 p.m. A discussion with director Marysa Sistach will
follow. For more information, call (310) 206-8500.
Mexican Institute of Cinematography
Maria Novaro’s film "Danzon" will be shown during the Latina
Film Festival at UCLA.