Family of Woman Documentaries Will Screen At Magic Lantern
By Dana DuGan
One of the more unique film festivals anywhere occurs each February in the Wood River Valley. This year, the 12th annual Family of Woman Film Festival will take place from Monday, Feb. 25, to Sunday, March 3, with all films screened at Magic Lantern Cinemas in Ketchum.
The theme, this year, is Women Still Waiting for Change, and will feature five documentary films and one dramatic film providing important perspectives on the lives of women. Each film will screen at 3 p.m. and 7 p.m.
Founded in 2008 by Friends of United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and board member Peggy Elliott Goldwyn, a Sun Valley resident, the films reflect the mission of UNFPA. The global organization works to assure women and girls have access to reproductive healthcare, education and basic human rights.
Each year, the Festival presents films that have gone on to win, or have already won, major international awards. It’s like Ketchum’s own altruistic sneak preview.
Executive director of UNFPA, Dr. Natalia Kanem will be the Festival’s Bonni Curran Memorial Lecture keynote speaker at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 26, at The Community Library in Ketchum. This lecture is free and open to the public
As well, Kanem will speak at two breakfasts, Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 27 and 28. The first will focus on UNFPA’s humanitarian relief in crisis situations, and training midwives in Yemen. The second will feature two speakers from Tostan, an organization working to empower communities in West Africa.
“With the political turmoil around the world, as well as in our own country, many may feel that the gains women have made in the past few years are slipping away,” Goldwyn said. “This year, we would like to point out that slow progress toward full equality remains a tide that cannot be turned, while still recognizing those women’s voices that are still waiting to be heard.”
The Festival will kick off with a free screening of “Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter,” at the Community Library. Thereafter, all films will be screened at Magic Lantern, beginning on Wednesday with “The Bleeding Edge” by Academy Award-nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering. The film looks at the $400 billion medical device industry and how it affects women.
On Thursday, “The Judge” provides rare insight into Shari’a law, an often-misunderstood legal framework for Muslims. Director Erika Cohn will present the film.
On Friday, “I Am Not a Witch” will screen. After a minor incident in her Zambian village, 9-year-old Shula is exiled to a traveling witch camp. The film is an Academy Award nominee for Best Foreign Film this year.
On Saturday, “Facing The Dragon,” by Sedika Mojadidi, concerns two unconventional Afghan women, Nilofar, a member of Parliament, and Shakila, a television journalist. Mojadidi won the 2018 Human Rights Watch Nestor Almendros Award for Courage in Filmmaking.
On Sunday, the Festival will close with “On Her Shoulders,” about 23-year-old Nadia Murad, an activist. The film has already won numerous festival awards. Murad is a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, the recipient of the Vaclav Havel Human Rights Prize and the Sakharov Prize, and the U.N.’s first Goodwill Ambassador for the Dignity of Survivors of Human Trafficking. She also received the Clinton Global Citizen Award, Peace Prize from the United Nations Association of Spain, and was named 2016 Woman of the Year by Glamour Magazine. Since 2015, Murad has worked to bring ISIS before the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Family of Woman Film Festival will also present “The Bleeding Edge” on Tuesday, Feb. 26, and “The Judge” on Wednesday, Feb. 27, at Boise State University, which is a platinum sponsor of the 2019 Family of Woman Film Festival.
For more information on the movies and tickets for the breakfasts, visit familyofwomanfilmfestival.org.
2019 FOW Schedule of Events
Tickets for film screenings at the Magic Lantern Cinemas will be available at Chapter One Bookstore, and at the Magic Lantern Cinemas beginning Wednesday, Feb. 27. Tickets available by cash sale only.
•Monday, Feb. 25, 6 p.m. Filmmaker Retrospective “Mrs. Goundo’s Daughter”
Documentary, U.S. and Mali
Free, at The Community Library
• Wednesday, Feb. 27 “The Bleeding Edge”
Documentary, U.S.
• Thursday, Feb. 28 “The Judge”
Documentary, Palestine
• Friday, March 1 “I Am Not A Witch”
Drama, Zambia
• Saturday, March 2 “Facing The Dragon”
Documentary, Afghanistan, Europe and U.S.
• Sunday, March 3 “On Her Shoulders”
Documentary, Global