I was invited to present on WVN’s work at the annual Women Action Media conference held by the L.A. chapter of the organization. The theme of the conference was The Feminist Possibilities of Documentary Film. My co-presenters were Jennifer Lee, director of the upcoming film “Feminist: Stories from the Women’s Liberation” and Janice Rosenthal Littlejohn, journalist and director of “…but can she play?” along with contemporary jazz trumpeter and songwriter, Crystal J. Torres. I presented on WVN’s Global Tour programs in the U.A.E and Jordan. The stories from our programs were woven into a discussion about women’s issues in the Arab world, previous feminist movements and the growing Islamic Feminist movements. We discussed women as agents of change and men’s roles in improving the status and lives of women. The audience, largely made up of students, academics and some folks…

I was once again invited to lecture to one of Professor Melanie Klein’s classes. This time I presented to her Women’s Studies class at Santa Monica College. The class was comprised of female students with only three male students. These young people had not had a lecture or presentation on women’s issues in the Arab world. So I began with a background on the region and the women’s movement including the newly developing Islamic feminist movement. I continued with stories from our screenings in the UAE earlier that month and in Jordan from October 2011. There were several women in our various screenings which had shared their experiences as leaders in their communities or going against the grain in their families or villages with regards to their career choice. The students watched Festival film “Male and Female” by a director…

The final night of the Festival wrapped up with our Girls in the Muslim World program. The panelists included Nujoom Alghanem, an award-winning Emirati female filmmaker and two WVN Festival filmmakers Patricia Fermazi director of “My Name is Pat” and alumni of the American University Sharjah and Bijoyeta Das director of “Saturday Mothers of Turkey”. The audience was interested in how the panelists developed their films from an idea into a full fledged film. They asked, “how much time does it take to make a film?” and “in retrospect, what are things you’d change about your film?” Bijoyeta felt there were many things she would change about her documentary especially in light of working on her new documentary dealing with female victims of acid attacks in Bangladesh. She expressed that she would have been more intimate with the subject matter…

Our second Festival night with Women in Film & Television was a screening of the Women at Work program. The integration of women in the workplace is among the list of issues women face in the UAE. Our panelists for the night were Dr. Nezar Andary, a professor at Zayed University Abu Dhabi campus whose work has included studies on Iranian and French cinema, Nujoom Alghanem, an award-winning Emirati female filmmaker, and Laura Boushnak, a photojournalist and activist.

The most poignant remark made by the audience came from an Emirati man who claimed that conditions for modern women are better than they were 200 years ago to which Nujoom responded that modern men have their rights now in addition to 200 years ago! The audience was amused. One audience member asked why people would choose to watch films about…

Opening Night with Women in Film and Television - Abu Dhabi

The UAE chapter of Women in Film & Television hosted our Festival for three consecutive days at the landmark Heritage Village in Abu Dhabi. Under the patronage of Sheikh Sultan Bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the Sultan bin Zayed Culture and Media Centre, His Excellency Hanafi Gayel, Consular and Legal Advisor, opened the Festival with a great deal of support for our films and the Festival. The Woman Warrior program kicked off the event followed by a panel that included two WVN Festival filmmakers, Laila Hotait director of “Basita” and Bijoyeta Das director of “Saturday Mothers of Turkey”. Souad Al Habib of Arab Women’s Voices was scheduled to be on the panel but unfortunately couldn’t attend due to illness.

The audience was a wonderful mix of locals and…

Telling Tales & Crafting Their Storytellers - New York University Abu Dhabi Campus

WVN’s first stop in the UAE was a screening at the New York University Abu Dhabi campus. The program was made up of our award-winning documentaries and well-made documentaries as the NYU students were focused on documentary filmmaking that semester. The screening was followed by a panel discussion that included Laila Hotait, WVN filmmaker of “Basita”, Bijoyeta Das, WVN filmmaker of “Saturday Mothers of Turkey” and Michelle Nickelson, co-founder of Women in Film & Television UAE.

The audience was interested in how the panel went about making their films a reality from idea to funding. They asked questions such as, “what motivated you to make your film?” and “how do I find financing for my film?…

Muntada - The Arab Forum for Sexuality, Education and Health - is a national organization committed to the social development of Palestinian society, by addressing educational and counseling needs as they relate to sexuality and reproductive health. Regarded locally as a major professional and intellectual nexus in the field of human sexuality, Muntada is also dynamically building connections with Arab and international networks in this field that share the principles of universal human rights and sustainable development.

Let us know your thoughts on their marvelous film Jensaneya”(Sexuality) !

Lecture at California State University Northridge (CSUN)

I was invited by Professor Melanie Klein of the Women’s Studies Department at CSUN to speak on WVN to her class entitled Women as Agents of Change. The class was made up mostly of young women but included a handful of young men. These young people had not had a lecture or presentation on women’s issues in the Arab world. So I began with a background on the region and the women’s movement including the newly developing Islamic feminist movement. I continued with stories from our screenings in Jordan from the previous month. There were several women in our various screenings which had shared their experiences as leaders in their communities or going against the grain in their families or villages with regards to their career choice. The students watched Festival film…

Panel at The Feminine Light in the Middle East: A Vision of Women, Worth and Purpose in support of Men of Honor and A New Legacy for our Children Conference

I was graciously invited to participate in a large conference in Los Angeles on the feminine light in the Middle East. The conference panels covered a gamut of topics but the panel I was asked to join addressed the question of how we see ourselves as women. My co-panelists included a male psychologist, a male comedian, a female actress/artist, a female journalist and a female oncologist. It was a diverse panel that offered different perspectives on the issue. I spoke of the negative portrayal of women in the region by the media and how our Festival films give the other side of the story. I included stories from WVN’s program…

Saving Face vs. Getting to the Point

Tonight we held a screening of the award-winning films from the Festival at the Red Sea Institute of Cinematic Arts (RSICA). RSICA is one of the very few film schools in the Middle East region and is associated with the University of Southern California’s renowned School of Cinematic Arts. The panelists included Ammar Basha WVN filmmaker of “Breaking the Silence” and RSICA student, Amal Basha Yemeni activist head of the Arab Sisters Human Rights Forum since 2001, and a regional consultant for the International alliance at the International Criminal Court (ICC) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Jordanian human rights attorney Mona Touqan.

It was quite a long event with an audience made up of film students and professors.