Cinema Canada (Aug-Sep 1973)

f Agnes Varda them. The art and photography was well received. Some positive and continuing things that came out of the festival — one woman was outstandingly enthusiastic about film-making, and had been isolated in making her super-8’s which she brought to show, and felt that this was an outlet and a learning experience. She was especially keen during a film-makers discussion led by Ann Wheeler and Lorna Rasmussen. We (the Women’s Programme Centre) have a small project going now with Ann and Lorna. They will be instructing and helping a group of 8 to 10 women in preparing slide-shows and possible video-tapes on selected topics for a women’s course we will be offering to the public this fall. Their woman-hours will be paid from a local Challenge for Change grant and film costs will be taken care of by an honorarium presented to the Women’s Programme Centre after the tour. Ann is also interested in holding a more in-depth kind of workshop to train women in operating equipment in film-making. The festival was a complete event in terms of presenting ideas to people, in terms of art and issues relating to women. The only failure was the scheduling of the panels and seminars. There should have been times when no films were being shown. People are easily tempted away by good films. Sincerely yours, Andrea Rogers Halifax Dear Sister, I was working with a community media-access group tied up in the advent of 1/2’ portable video equipment, where my function was to ‘Welcome People to the Wonderful World of Sony”, i.e. “promote the awakening of a social consciousness” in Halifax (a frustrating experience) and therefore welcomed the opportunity to work with Women & Film as well. Fortunately Sony lived up to its reputation for Dorothy Arzner, Holly ood director ie repeated mechanical breakdown and enabled me to devote more time to the organizing of the Festival. And for me the experience was an informative and valuable one. The women (men and children) who attended the Festival were mostly students, friends, ‘‘non-professional professionals”, between the ages of 18-25; a grand cross-section of the academic middle class. We related very well. We feel one of the reasons we failed to get a greater cross-section of the city is that the Festival was held in the University Arts Centre, in the south end (affluent) and therefore saw the same faces the Arts Centre always sees. This problem might have been avoided if Women & Film had happened in the north end (low income) or had travelled the local theatre circuits. The more popular films were A Very Curious Girl, Wanda, La Vie Revée Peasant Women of Ryazan, One Woman, Germaine Greer vs. the U.S.A.; any documentaries dealing specifically with women and related problems, Canadian shorts and animation films (ie. A Windy Day, One Hand Clapping, etc.). No film aroused a strong negative response. The Festival was definitely wellreceived by “film-buffs” and people glad for the opportunity to view films that are otherwise inaccessible for some strange distribution reasons or other ...and I think revived an interest in establishing an underground cinema in Halifax where local work might be screened as well as international work and films that commercial theatres aren’t intere$ted in. Women in Film also raised an outcry for a women’s consciousness raising centre/meeting place; as we don’t have one to speak of — but certainly a desire for one. And it created the beginnings of a Women’s Photo Coop. All in all it was a stimulating force ... hopefully it doesn’t end there. Yours in film, Jay Maclean M ireille Dansereau Regina Well the date was rapidly approaching and we were beginning to wonder if the publicity had gotten through and whether anyone would come. Well — they did. Wednesday — the first day was a high. Woo Hoo May Wilson has to be on a best film list. It was seen by a lot of older women and received much vocal appreciation. Betty Tells Her Story — laughter and clapping the first time around — intense silence for the second part. The day ended with A Very Curious Girl — the audience left feeling happy and together. Thursday had a lower energy level. The films weren’t as good or were heavies. Sambizanga is a tremendously moving film — extremely well done — for a lot of people it was impossible to see anything else afterwards. Comic relief was needed and wasn’t forthcoming. At 2 o’clock in the morning Near The Big Chakra was shown — what was left of the audience got up one by one and left. Daycare was outstanding. Marilyn Driver and crew came loaded with flowers, trees, furniture, paper maché, Pooh animals and transformed a dull institutional room into a garden of delights. They didn’t just babysit — they showed the children a really good time. The kids even made a movie — one child introduced it and we showed it — all three minutes of it — during the festival. It is too soon to tell if the festival will have an impact on women’s films and art in this city. The films and the workshops were stimulating and contacts were made so... who knows? Was the festival worth the effort — emphatically yes! Janet Hone Saskatoon The Women and Film Festival opened in Saskatoon at the Saskatoon Public Library on July 12 with an evening of poetry, music, dance and Cinema Canada 15