by Jody McBrien, AWG Paris
This year marks the 24th anniversary of the international Through Women’s Eyes film festival, sponsored by a non-profit organization in Sarasota, Florida. Since COVID-19, the group has brought these international films into people’s homes through streaming video. The benefit is that viewers from anywhere in the world can enjoy cutting-edge narratives and documentaries by women directors and filmmakers during the week of the festival.
This year’s festival takes places March 9-13. It includes 38 films from 13 countries, including Ukraine, Scotland, Ireland, Belgium, South Africa, Senegal and Iran. Topics range from women’s rights over their own bodies to war and refugee experiences, life choices and sports. You can fine abstracts for all of the films (and trailers for many) at on the festival website.
This is an excellent opportunity to gain women’s perspectives on the themes, especially when you consider that only seven women have been nominated for Best Director in the Oscars’ 95-year history. Full details on ordering tickets and watching the films can be found here.
The nonprofit Through Women’s Eyes (TWE) was founded in 1994 as the Gulf Coast Chapter of UN Women USA and was the largest local chapter in the US. This is how I became involved with the group. We held fundraising events for UN Women and informed community members about national and international women’s issues through monthly book club meetings, an annual walk to end gender-based violence (GBV), the film festival and an annual luncheon. UN Women USA disbanded its local chapters in 2022, but the dedicated women of the Gulf Coast chapter recognized the importance of continuing local events, not only to advance the rights of women, but also to promote gender equality, particularly as the rights of LGBTQIA and nonbinary people in the US have been increasingly under attack in recent years. The group registered as a non-profit organization called Through Women’s Eyes, and it works to help people understand root causes of gender inequality.
TWE recognizes that issues of gender inequality are systemic. The group works with other organizations to inform the public and advocate for reform. It has continued the film festival – which gains more international entries every year – its book club, annual walk to end GBV and other opportunities to inform and advocate for equality. You can learn more about this important American women’s group at https://throughwomenseyes.org/.