BY KAREN BOSSICK
Mama Colonel, as she is known, is the head of a police force tasked with protecting children from harm in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Honorine Munyole must fight not only to stop abuse against women and children but to try to educate fellow Congolese who believe children deserve to be punished because of a misguided but prevalent belief that they’re practicing witchcraft.
The story of this brave tenacious woman who fights for justice when no one else will is one of the films that will be shown at the 11th annual Family of Woman Film Festival Feb. 27 through March 4.
This year’ theme is “Women on the Margins,” with films featuring women dealing with handicaps, aging, being a member of a minority or even a refugee.
“All these things are difficult to deal with. But such circumstances become much more onerous if you’re also a woman,” said Festival Founder Peggy Elliott Goldwyn. “If you’re a woman who is disabled or a refuge or a member of a minority race, you’re even more invisible.”
This year’s films run the gamut from a beautifully photographed film about a Lapp girl who must fight prejudice in her native Sweden to a documentary about female Kurdish fighters who, Goldwyn says, have high positions in the military and are some of its most effective fighters against ISIS.
“These films deal with tough subjects, but they’re uplifting. The people we tell stories about are those who never give up. They’re survivors and that makes them role models,” said Goldwyn.
The film festival will kick off on Wednesday, Feb. 28, with a free filmmaker retrospective of the Academy Award-nominated “Sun Come Up,” which follows the lives of environmental refugees seeking haven as a rising ocean engulfs their island home.
It will continue with three documentaries and three dramas. All are at the Sun Valley Opera House, with the exception of the Bonni Curran Memorial Lecture and the screening of “Sun Comes Up.”
Here’s a look at what’s ahead:
Tuesday, Feb. 27, 6:30 p.m.—THE BONNI CURRAN MEMORIAL LECTURE for the Health and Dignity of Women will feature Maria Cavalcanti, executive director of Pro Muher, at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ketchum. Pro Mujer is a nonprofit development organization dedicated to help Latin American women break the cycle of poverty. FREE.
Wednesday, Feb. 28, 6 p.m.—“SUN COMES UP.” Free filmmaker retrospective featuring director Jennifer Redfearn at 6 p.m. at Ketchum’s Community Library. The film was shown at the Festival in 2011 when the festival theme was “Women and the Environment.” FREE.
Thursday, March 1, 7:30 p.m.—“MAMA COLONEL.” This feature documentary tells the story of a woman who heads a special national police unit as she works to bring happiness back into the lives of women whose country has been devastated by a long civil war.
“Mama Colonel, as she is affectionately called, wears a uniform and carries a handbag. And she is formidable,” said Goldwyn. “And the film takes an interesting look at who exactly are victims when a bus full of people who have maimed claim, ‘We’re the victims.’ Some of the women respond, ‘Just because you can’t see our scars doesn’t mean we don’t have them.’
“It’s not a downer—it has a beautiful ending,” she added.
There will be a post-screening discussion with Ugochi Daniels, head of the United Nations Population Fund Humanitarian Relief Unit. She also will be a POV (Point of View) breakfast speaker.
“She ‘s very familiar with the situation portrayed in the film, and she can tell us what’s happening in the refugee camps right now, addressing such questions as whether the refugee camps are breeding grounds for terrorism,” said Goldwyn.
Friday, March 2, 7 p.m.—“TOCANDO LA LUZ,” or “Touch the Sky.” This feature documentary focuses on three blind women in Havana and their heartbreak and joy as they deal with their blindness, trying to get away from depending on others.
The youngest is in a program for blind youth where she falls in love with a young blind man, giving her parents cause for concern about where she’s going in life. A woman who became blind when older grapples with the idea that she’s living too much in the past. And a third woman may not be able to see but she parlays her beautiful singing voice into winning music competitions for the blind.
“All these women have lives. This looks at how they work out support systems with friends and family to go after what they want,” said Goldwyn.
A discussion with filmmaker Jennifer Redfearn will follow.
Saturday, March 3, 11 a.m.—“POETRY.” South Korean actress Jeong-hie Yung came out of retirement to play an aging woman developing Alzheimer’s. She won numerous awards for her role as a woman dismissed by society who finds a powerful voice when she joins a poetry class to stimulate her mind.
“It’s a beautiful inspiring film about a woman who finds her voice just as she thinks her life is slipping away,” said Goldwyn. “Often we don’t want to look at Asians because they’re over there. But I’ve always loved that film and I thought it had a place in our festival.”
The film will be shown FREE of charge.
Saturday, March 3, 3 p.m.—“SAMI BLOOD.” This drama from Sweden is based on the life of the grandmother of filmmaker Amanda Kernell. It follows a young Sami girl who is taken from her reindeer-herding family and put in a state school where she is told that the Sami are inferior to Swedes. She reacts by breaking all ties with her family and culture to try to pass as a Swede.
“The Swedish treated the Samis during the 1930s the way we treated Native Americans and the way the Australian treated aboriginals,” said Goldwyn. “In the film the girl idolizes her teacher. But, when she tells her teacher she wants to further her education, she’s told that the brains of Lapps are smaller and incapable of such a thing.
“The film features the sweeping scenic backdrop of the steppes of Northern Sweden and scenes of herding reindeer—similar to the beautiful cinematography we saw in last year’s ‘The Eagle Hunter,’ ” said Goldwyn.
A discussion with filmmaker Amanda Kernell will follow.
Saturday, March 3, 7 p.m.—“IN SYRIA.” This feature drama, which won the Audience Award at the 2017 Berlin Film Festival, was shot in Lebanon. It recreates the life of a family trapped in their apartment by the raging civil war in Damascus as the matriarch of the family tries to keep the chaos outside from intruding.
Director Philippe Van Leeuw cast refugees for the part and confined the auction to 24 hours.
“It’s a gripping film,” said Goldwyn.
A discussion with filmmaker Philippe Van Leeuw will follow.
Sunday, March 4, 3 p.m.—“GIRLS’ WAR,” a feature documentary from the Kurdish region of Iraq. Filmmaker Mylene Sauloy embedded herself with Kurdish female soldiers who have proven themselves in the fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria. The film not only shows them winning victories but explores a society based on gender and equality and a culture that embraces a feminist religious viewpoint.
A discussion with filmmaker Mylene Sauloy will follow.
Tickets for the Family of Woman Film Festival go on sale Thursday, Feb. 1, at Chapter One Bookstore in Ketchum. They will also be available at the box office at the Sun Valley Opera House on screening days.
Tickets are $15 each or $60 for all films. Special packages, including advance tickets and special Festival events, can be purchased online at www.familyofwomanfilmfestival.org.
Goldwyn said there was a “wonderful outpouring of support” for last year’s Film Festival: “I think both men and women felt frustrated following the election and they needed to be counted. They felt taking part of in the festival was a way to show they support women.”
Goldwyn added that she hopes this year’s selections will lead viewers to think about those who are marginalized and how we sometimes contribute to the marginalization of others.
“We marginalize people in Syria, for instance, because they’re not us,” she said. “We marginalize women who are gang raped because we don’t want to hear about it. Hopefully, these films will make us think differently.”
BSU SCREENS TWO FILMS
Boise State University, a platinum festival sponsor, will present “Mama Colonel” at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 27, at the Morrison Center Recital Hall. BSU will present “In Syria (Insyriated), at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28. Both are free to the public.