Women With Vision: Past/Present

Past years have embraced women directors confronting the consequences of keeping silent, the era of increasing surveillance, and global migration, among other topical trends. Mousley explains this year's subtitle, Past/Present: "The filmmakers look at how the past has shaped the present—several of this year's filmmakers tell stories by looking back in time to understand where we stand in this complex, contemporary world."

Drawing entries from around the world, the festival also boasts a Minnesota premiere: producer Christine Walker and director Georgina Lightning present Older Than America. Global viewpoints come from Japan's Naomi Kawase, with her Cannes Film Festival winner The Mourning Forest, and a slate of films from Austria, Germany, the United Kingdom, France, Iran, Brazil, and of course, the United States.

Special programs include a tribute to International Women's Day (March 8, 3–5 pm), including three film programs and a dialogue lounge—a place for filmmakers and audience members to enjoy conversation and refreshments—located in the Star Tribune Foundation Art Lab; a free panel discussion, Moving the Moving Image (March 13, 7 pm), focusing on the ways in which these media artists leverage ever-changing technologies to serve their creative processes; and two programs of short films (March 8, 2 pm, and March 29, 2 pm). Other highlights of this year's festival include a screening of Rachel Talbot's Making Trouble (March 9, 7 pm), copresented with the Sabes Foundation Minneapolis Jewish Film Festival; Parting Shot (Pas Douce), directed by Jeanne Waltz, featuring a performance by actress/director Isild Le Besco, who made her directorial debut with Half-Price at the 2006 Women with Vision festival (March 14, 7:30 pm); Sandra Kogut's Mutum (March 28, 7:30 pm), screening as part of the Walker's Cinemateca series of new cinema from Latin America; and the closing-night screening of Hana Makhmalbaf's Buddha Collapsed Out of Shame (Buda as sharm foru rikht), on Saturday, March 29, 8 pm. The annual sidebar festival Girls in the Director's Chair will take place on Saturday, March 1, featuring works by young Minnesota filmmakers ages 8 to 18.

Unless otherwise noted, all films are screened in the Cinema. Tickets are $8 ($6 Walker members), or pick 3 films and get the 4th free for only $24 ($18). -- www.walkerart.org