OUR VOICES
VIOLENCE PREVENTION CENTER FILM FESTIVAL 2024
Our Voices is a weekend long film festival at the Arrowhead Centre for the Arts that features five critically acclaimed independent films, all directed by women filmmakers from around the world. These aren’t films you’ll find on any streaming service, folks. We worked in conjunction with the independent film production company, Women Make Movies (WMM.org) to bring you five beautiful, honest, and heart wrenching films about topics that impact all of us.
Stay tuned for show times, details, and ticket sales!
The Films
Esther Newton Made Me Gay
Directed by Jean Carlomusto
US | 2022 | 92 minutes | CC
A feature documentary about the pathbreaking cultural anthropologist, dog agility enthusiast, and iconic butch lesbian, Esther Newton.
Press
"Jean Carlomusto makes her films with heart, with grace, and with integrity … her portrait of Esther Newton unveils a living, breathing human being, a masculine of center, femme-loving, dog-loving, brilliant and articulate woman..."
- JP Prolman Queerguru
"Inspired by Margaret Mead and Gertrude Stein, Newton forged a path for queer studies in academia, writing about drag artists and gender roles. Esther Newton Made Me Gay celebrates the life, loves, and influence of this pioneering figure in queer studies."
- Gay City News Garry M. Kramer
"This is an amazing documentary about history, huge achievements, relationships, and competence. It will make you emotional, enthralled, and excited. A true embodiment of strength and endurance. To see the world through Esther’s eyes is a true privilege."
- Cassandra W Lesflicks
Showtime
Friday, February 2nd @ 7PM
Refreshments available for purchase from 6:15PM-6:50PM and at intermission.
Pink Saris
Directed by Kim Longinotto
UK/India | 2010 | 96 minutes | Hindi | Subtitled
An unflinching and often amusing look at these unlikely political activists and their charismatic leader; in extraordinary scenes, we watch Sampat launch herself into the centre of family dramas, witnessed by scores of spectators, convinced her mediation is the best path for these vulnerable girls. Her partner Babuji, who has watched Sampat change over the years, is less certain...
Press
"Kim Longinotto's work (Sisters in Law, Divorce Iranian Style, Rough Aunties) is well-situated in a rubric of third-world feminism..."
- Bryce Renninger Films for the Feminist Classroom
“The beauty of sitting down to watch a new Kim Longinotto film is that even if you don’t have any idea what it’s about, you can trust that it’s going to deliver. Her latest, PINK SARIS, is no exception.”
- Hammer to Nail
“PINK SARIS is easily one of the most interesting, relevant and fascinating documentaries I have ever seen.”
- London Film Festival
Showtime
Saturday, February 3rd @ 11AM
Sisters in Law
A film by Kim Longinotto, Co-directed by Florence Ayisi
Winner of the Prix Art et Essai at the Cannes Film Festival, SISTERS IN LAW is the story of two women in Cameroon determined to change their community.
Cameroon/UK | 2005 | 104 minutes | Pidgin English | Subtitled
Press
“Highly Recommended. Multi-faceted. Refreshing to see [African women] portrayed as powerful, confident and in control of their own destinies.”
- Educational Media Reviews Online
“Knocked me flat and earned my tears of shock and joy.”
- Vancouver International Film Festival
“One of the best documentaries of all time.”
- Telluride Film Festival
"POSITIVELY SOARS…Who are these women, and can they please take over the world soon?"
- Nathan Lee The New York Times
"Illuminating, entertaining... you might start to seriously wonder if there's a way to get [Vera Ngassa] to run for office here in America."
Gene Seymour Newsday
Showtime
Saturday, February 3rd @ 7PM
Refreshments available for purchase from 6:15PM-6:50PM and at intermission.
Sisters Rising
Directed by Willow O'Feral and Brad Heck
Co-produced by Jaida Grey Eagle (Oglala Lakota)
Executive Producer: Tantoo Cardinal (Cree/Métis)
An urgent call to action, a gorgeous portrait of powerful women acting in solidarity, and a demand for tribal sovereignty and self-determination as the necessary step towards ending violence against Native women.
US | 2020 | 59 minutes | Color | DVD | English | CC
Press
”In a portrait of six brave participants who refuse to let a pattern of violence against Native women continue on in the shadows, this film shines an unflinching and ultimately uplifting light onto righting injustice on both an individual and systemic level.”
- Big Sky Documentary Film Festival
“I believe in Sisters Rising because it centers Native women and their experiences within the discussion of the systemic forces which perpetuate sexual assault. This is a conversation that needs to happen now and I believe Sisters Rising is a powerful contributing voice.”
- Sarah Deer Muscogee Creek Lawyer, Advocate and Professor
"Both affecting and educational, bringing attention to an epidemic that is ravaging Native communities."
- Video Librarian
Showtime
Sunday, February 4th @ 1PM
What Doesn't Kill Me
A film by Rachel Meyrick
UK | 2017 | 82 minutes | English
In this bold and urgent film, mothers, lawyers, and domestic violence experts share intimate personal stories, hard-hitting facts and frank discussions about what is wrong with the system and how to fix it.
Press
"The film raises much-needed awareness of domestic violence and an issue many have never heard of: court licensed abuse."
- Huffington Post
"WHAT DOESN'T KILL ME masterfully explains some of the systemic causes of the problem, while also showing its devastating human impact. As an expose, it raises awareness and compellingly condemns the silence and social complicity integral to the perpetuation of domestic violence and court licensed abuse. As a work of art, and a tribute to the many survivors in the film, WHAT DOESN'T KILL ME offers validation, hope, and inspiration. The film struck the perfect balance between leaving viewers speechless and fueling the conversation, and it should be mandatory for anyone working in family court or with domestic violence survivors."
- Hope Loudon Huffington Post
Showtime
Sunday, February 4th @ 3PM
Refreshments available for purchase from 2:00PM-2:50PM and after the film.