CineMujer 2010

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Friday, March 26, 2010

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Join us for the first installment of the 6th Annual
CineMujer International Film Festival and a weekend of films highlighting the hopes, the struggles and the perseverance of women around the world.

All screenings at
the Esperanza Peace &
Justice Center,
922 San Pedro, 78212
call 210.228.0201 for info

Friday, March 26, 2010 \| $5 mas o menos

6:30pm		Made in L.A. dir. Almudena Carracedo \| 2008, USA, 70 min Spanish/English with English/Spanish subtitles Made in L.A. is an Emmy award-winning feature documentary that follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verite style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice. \| film website Co-presented by Fuerza Unida. Screening will be followed by a plática.

8:30pm		La Nana/The Maid dir. Sebastian Silva \| 2009, Chile, 94 min \| Spanish with English subtitles After 23 years of service to the Valdes family, Raquel is comfortably ensconced in a vague existence between maid and her illusion that she is a family member. Her barely concealed bitterness and increased clashes with her employer's eldest daughter lead the family to think she is overworked. They hire more help, and, feeling usurped, Raquel begins to sabotage each new employee by resorting to childish antics, clinging to her ambiguous place within the family. In his remarkably astute second feature, Sebastian Silva questions, without bias, a dusty remnant of class division—the common, Latin American, aristocratic tradition of serfdom. Within this complex dynamic, we are privy to the inner workings of a well-intentioned family's relationship with their servant—however endearingly the word is used. Silva wields his handheld camera like a magnifying glass, revealing Raquel’s fenced-in fragility, and watching her evolve is truly touching. Astonishing in its intimacy, the film wrings awkward humor from the alienated Raquel's mind games. Only Lucy, last in the line of new maids, is able to nudge Raquel gently toward the momentous kick-start needed to rediscover herself. Sebastian Silva's hungry curiosity to examine the intersection of social and personal forces produces a painful, yet satisfying, comedic drama that shakes up and humanizes an insidious system. \| film website Recipient of the World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic and a World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Acting at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.



Saturday, March 27, 2010 \| $5 mas o menos

4:00pm		FLOW dir. Irena Salina \| 2008, USA, 84 min \| English Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question ‘Can anyone really own water?’ Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. \| film website

5:30pm		Pray the Devil Back to Hell dir. Abigail E. Disney \| 2008, USA, 72 min \| English Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn to shreds by a decades-old civil war. The women's historic yet unsung achievement finds voice in a narrative that intersperses contemporary interviews, archival images, and scenes of present-day Liberia together to recount the experiences and memories of the women who were instrumental in bringing lasting peace to their country. \| film website

7:00pm		Sin by Silence dir. Olivia Klause \| 2009, USA, 49 min \| English Sin by Silence offers a unique gateway into the lives of women who are domestic violence's living worst-case scenarios - women who have killed their abusers. While most of the women in Sin by Silence may remain in prison for the remainder of their lives, these women are committed to helping others understand the reality of domestic violence. Through their stories of terror and hope, we can begin to understand the cycle of violence, the signs of an abuser, and how each and every one of us is responsible for changing the tragedy of domestic violence. \| film website Co-presented by the P.E.A.C.E. Initiative Screening will be followed by a plática.

Friday, March 26, 2010 \| $5 mas o menos

6:30pm		Made in L.A. dir. Almudena Carracedo \| 2008, USA, 70 min Spanish/English with English/Spanish subtitles Made in L.A. is an Emmy award-winning feature documentary that follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verite style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice. \| film website Co-presented by Fuerza Unida. Screening will be followed by a plática.

8:30pm		La Nana/The Maid dir. Sebastian Silva \| 2009, Chile, 94 min \| Spanish with English subtitles After 23 years of service to the Valdes family, Raquel is comfortably ensconced in a vague existence between maid and her illusion that she is a family member. Her barely concealed bitterness and increased clashes with her employer's eldest daughter lead the family to think she is overworked. They hire more help, and, feeling usurped, Raquel begins to sabotage each new employee by resorting to childish antics, clinging to her ambiguous place within the family. In his remarkably astute second feature, Sebastian Silva questions, without bias, a dusty remnant of class division—the common, Latin American, aristocratic tradition of serfdom. Within this complex dynamic, we are privy to the inner workings of a well-intentioned family's relationship with their servant—however endearingly the word is used. Silva wields his handheld camera like a magnifying glass, revealing Raquel’s fenced-in fragility, and watching her evolve is truly touching. Astonishing in its intimacy, the film wrings awkward humor from the alienated Raquel's mind games. Only Lucy, last in the line of new maids, is able to nudge Raquel gently toward the momentous kick-start needed to rediscover herself. Sebastian Silva's hungry curiosity to examine the intersection of social and personal forces produces a painful, yet satisfying, comedic drama that shakes up and humanizes an insidious system. \| film website Recipient of the World Cinema Jury Prize: Dramatic and a World Cinema Special Jury Prize for Acting at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival.



Saturday, March 27, 2010 \| $5 mas o menos

4:00pm		FLOW dir. Irena Salina \| 2008, USA, 84 min \| English Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis. Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel. Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question ‘Can anyone really own water?’ Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. \| film website

5:30pm		Pray the Devil Back to Hell dir. Abigail E. Disney \| 2008, USA, 72 min \| English Pray the Devil Back to Hell is the gripping account of a group of brave and visionary women who demanded peace for Liberia, a nation torn to shreds by a decades-old civil war. The women's historic yet unsung achievement finds voice in a narrative that intersperses contemporary interviews, archival images, and scenes of present-day Liberia together to recount the experiences and memories of the women who were instrumental in bringing lasting peace to their country. \| film website

7:00pm		Sin by Silence dir. Olivia Klause \| 2009, USA, 49 min \| English Sin by Silence offers a unique gateway into the lives of women who are domestic violence's living worst-case scenarios - women who have killed their abusers. While most of the women in Sin by Silence may remain in prison for the remainder of their lives, these women are committed to helping others understand the reality of domestic violence. Through their stories of terror and hope, we can begin to understand the cycle of violence, the signs of an abuser, and how each and every one of us is responsible for changing the tragedy of domestic violence. \| film website Co-presented by the P.E.A.C.E. Initiative Screening will be followed by a plática.