UP Film Institute celebrates “Wandering, Wondering, Wonderful Women” at the 18th International Women Film Festival

UP Film Institute in cooperation with Microdata, BusinessWorld, Globe and GMA Network pay homage to varied wandering, wondering, wonderful women as the institute celebrates the 18^th International Women’s Film Festival at the Cine Adarna at the University of the Philippines-Diliman from the 10^th – 13^th of March 2008.

UP Film Institute recognizes and sympathizes with the pains, sacrifices, negotiations and the victories that the diasporic woman encounters as the growing trend of feminization of the labor force all over the world, with the Philippines as the widest exporter of human labor, continue to affect womanity.

The film festival will showcase the best feature and short films by/for women from different parts of the globe. A festival highlight is Malaysian full-length film, handpicked by the 18^th IWFF committee, Tan Chui Mui’s Love Conquers All, which bagged first prizes from Pusan, Rotterdam and Hong Kong film festivals.

Fora on women and migration, with lectures by women and gender-sensitive directors such as Joyce Bernal, Khryss Adalia and Cathy Garcia-Molina as a highlight, explore discourses on film as a diasporic experience, filming the diasporic experience and the diasporic nomadic woman.

For the festival launch night, in recognition of her legacy as THE CONTRAVIDA of Philippine movies, the sole Diwata awardee is the irreplaceable Ms. Bella Flores. Ms. Flores has appeared in more than 100 movies since her career began as a 16-year-old lass in the early 1950s. Even today, no one parallels her iconic looks and acting wit.

Crafting the Diwata trophy is well-known sculptor, Ms. Lia Torralba, who blends together the images of leaf, woman, moon and vessel into her work.

Also for the launch night, to celebrate the role of young women artists and activists in promoting equity and equality for women UP Diliman University Student Council Chair (incoming Student Regent) Ms. Shahana Abdulwahid gives more significance to the festival with inspirational remarks. UP Open University Chancellor Grace Javier Alfonso and UPFI Director Anne Marie de Guzman provide the festival overview.

To complete the line up of events for the festival, women artists mount a multi-media exhibit entitled Rekorida at the Ishmael Bernal Gallery from March 10 to 25, to be curated by woman multidisciplinary artist Vivian N. Limpin.

The Festival is also presented by the University Student Council (UP Diliman), Quezon City Gender and Development Office, Trade Union Congress of the Philippines, Democratic Socialist Women of the Philippines, Center for Community Journalism and Development, Rep. Liza Masa (Gabriela Women’s Party), F177 Women in Cinema class of the UPFI, University Center for Women’s Studies, Embassy of Spain, Embassy of Israel, and the Environmental Broadcast Circle.

For inquiries and complete list of film screenings, fora, seminar, festival music concert, please call the UP Film Institute at: 926.36.40, 926.27.22 (telefax), 981.85.00 loc. 4286. Or email: upfi.adarna@gmail.com.

The 18^th International Women Film Festival: Wandering, Wondering, Wonderful Women opens on the 10^th of March 2008, 6:00pm, Cine Adarna, UP Film Institute, UP Diliman. Free admission.