Tuesday, Janurary 7, 2014: Early Feminist Women’s Films in Cruz Bay
Early Women’s Lib Films
Julia Reichert, Visiting Filmmaker
January 7, 2014 / 7:30 pm / St. John School of the Arts, Cruz Bay
Julia Reichert presents a selection of short, painfully funny films from the early Women’s Liberation Movement.
Growing Up Female Jim Klein, Julia Reichert | 1971 | USA | 50 min. Widely recognized as the first feature film to come out of the modern women’s movement, Julia Reichert’s landmark documentary “Growing Up Female” follows six girls and six women living in Middle America and gives voice to their powerlessness over imposing institutional forces. Recently inducted into the National Film Registry, this painfully funny, honest and daring film remains a powerful example of what women accomplished when they first picked up the camera. This program is something we encourage all young girls to see. Reichert will be on hand for discussion and to introduce several surprising, funny additional films from the era.
Growing Up Female, a classic film of the Second Wave Women’s Movement, has been beautifully restored. This 1971 work was a basic organizing tool for Women’s Liberation over decades, screening in living rooms, nascent women’s centers, classrooms and church basements. This 1971 work was the first feature length documentary to emerge from those halcyon days. It was very widely seen and used in women’s centers, classrooms and church basements to spread the basic insights of women’s second class status.
Susan Sontag wrote “It’s one of those painful experiences that’s good for you.”
Make Out Geri Ashur, Andrea Eagan | 1970 | USA | 5 min. “Make Out” shows a young couple making out in a car while a voice over reveals the young woman’s real thoughts about what is happening.
Up Against the Wall Miss America Newsreel Group | 1968 | USA | 8 min. A now-historical film about the disruption of the Miss America pageant of l968, with raps, guerrilla theater, and original songs.
Anything You Want to Be Liane Brandon | 1971 | USA | 8 min. A teenager’s humorous collision with sex-role stereotypes.
Julia Reichert
Julia Reichert was nominated three times for the Academy Award for her documentary work and is winner of the Primetime Emmy Award. She has directed both documentary and fiction features. Her films have screened in major film festivals worldwide, including Sundance, New York, Telluride, Cannes and Rotterdam. Her first five documentaries were all broadcast on national PBS. GROWING UP FEMALE, which was her student project at Antioch College, was recently named to the National Film Registry. Her films have screened theatrically around the U.S., playing in over 100 cities, and internationally in theaters and television in dozens of countries. She is a proud co-founder of this distribution co-op, New Day Films, a founder of the Independent Feature Project, a professor of film production at Wright State University, a mom and a grandma.