2007 Festival Films By and About Women
Kim Voynar, who has attended a number of film festivals this year, provides a list of her favorites:
Teeth — about a young girl with vagina dentata; stars Jess Weixler (shared the Best Actress at Sundance with Tamara Podemski for Four Sheets to the Wind)
Four Sheets to the Wind — Directed by Sterling Harjo, won Best Actress at Sundance for Tamara Podemski (shared with Jess Weixler for Teeth)
4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days — Winner at Cannes, directed by Christian Mungui, is about friendship between women and an abortion.
Eve of Understanding — written and directed by Alyson Shelton, about a young woman’s personal journey following the death of her mother.
War/Dance — Doc about Ugandan war orphans, directed by Sean Fine and Andrea Nix-Fine
Blind Mountain — Chinese film about a young college graduate kidnapped and forced into marriage with the son of peasant farmers in a remote mountain village.
Secret Sunshine (Milyang) — Won the Best Actress award for star Do-yeon Jeon at Cannes–South Korean film about a woman who relocates to her recently deceased husband’s hometown, only to find more sorrow awaits her there.
Persepolis — Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novels about growing up in Iran during the revolution, brought to vivid life in this stark black and white animated film. Telluride and Toronto; France’s Best Foreign nominee. Co-written/directed by Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Parronnaud The Tracey Fragments — Ellen Page stars as a young girl looking for
her lost brother.
An American Crime — Another Ellen Page starrer — Page plays a young girl murdered while in the care of a foster mother.
Red is the Color of — Written and directed by Anne Norda, strong female lead performances
Sweet Mud — strong performance by lead actress; film is about a young boy growing up on a Kibbutz with a mentally unbalanced mother (Ronet Yudkevitz in a standout performance)
Protagonist — Directed by Jessica Yu (Sundance) Ping Pong Playa — Directed by Jessica Yu (Toronto)
Hounddog — Controversial Dakota Fanning starrer (Sundance)
Rails & Ties — Directed by Alison Eastwood, written by Micky Levy, stars Marcia Gay Harden.
