Women and the war in Iraq
By Atención staff January 4, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Film and Forum
Female Faces of War
A public forum with Susan Avila-Smith
Wed, Jan 9, 5pm
Teatro Santa Ana
Biblioteca Pública
Insurgentes 25
Donation 50 pesos for Biblioteca programs

Teatro Santa Ana screens a special viewing of the “rough cut” of the upcoming documentary Female Faces of War. For producers Wild Iris Media, the effects of the Iraq war on women are grossly overlooked.

For the producers it is important for the public to know the high cost of war—US$12 billion spent each month in its fifth year of engagement—however, women are paying an extraordinary price. One in seven US troops are women who not only serve in unprecedented numbers, but deal with the violence of sexual assault on top of the horrors of combat. Iraqi women, who are in the line of fire with their families, also face the violence of personal attacks from religious fundamentalists.

The documentary explores the impact of the Iraq war through the personal stories of individual women including: a military mother’s reaction to the news of her son’s death in Iraq and her path to healing; the stories of Iraqi women as they fight for liberalization, peace and human rights in the extremely difficult environments of past and present Iraq; and a soldier’s experiences in a war zone and coming home haunted by intrusive thoughts and nightmares.

The first phase of the project was screened at the Seattle Art Museum on October 2 at a symposium on Women and the War in Iraq sponsored by King County Washington Women Lawyers. Wild Iris Media is targeting a February 2008 release for the final version and is seeking support for completion of the film.

Susan Avila-Smith, ex-Army linguist and founder of Women Organizing Women advocacy for military sexual trauma, will hold a question and answer session following the screening. All entrance fees will be donated to Biblioteca programs.

Susan Avila-Smith

Susan comes from a family with extensive military service, including her own service in the US Army during the Persian Gulf War era. She served in the Army from 1991–95 and, during that time, experienced multiple traumas which guided her to provide much-needed support for women veterans and a safer military for active-duty women. Susan has traveled the world, speaks several languages and brings a global perspective to her work.

Avila-Smith founded the veteran’s advocacy organization Women Organizing Women to provide support and services to military personnel affected by sexual trauma, lobby for prosecution of offenders and legislation changes.

Over more than nine years the organization has provided support for more than 600 female and 20 male clients at various stages of recovery from MST.

She has appeared on Good Morning America, Dateline NBC, 60 Minutes, BBC International and in articles in Time, Newsweek, The Boston Globe, The Denver Post, The Guardian (UK), Il Manifesto (Italy) and People.

Read the Seattle Post-Intelligencer interview with Avila-Smith at http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/219613_crusader11.html. 

For more information about Women Organizing Women see www.vetwow.com. 

Juarez: From the directors
By Alex Flores and Lorena Vassolo

Film Juarez: The City Where Women are Disposable Fri, Jan 11, 7:30pm Teatro Santa Ana Biblioteca Pública Reloj 50A 50 pesos

An article in the Toronto Star in February 2006, written by Linda Diebel, really touched Alex Flores and inspired her to do a film about the murdered women of Juarez. At that point she called and told me about the article and her idea. We got together and—after reading the article and talking about the situation in Juarez—decided that we absolutely had to make a documentary about femicide together, and it would be called Juarez.

The more we researched the murders of women in Juarez, the more compelled we felt to tell their stories and those of their children, who are the other victims of these horrible crimes. We also decided that we wanted to interview some of these children and their grandmothers, who are the ones now struggling to care for them with little or no assistance from the government.

We began our research and received a lot of support from Marisela Ortiz, one of the founders of the nonprofit organization Nuestras Hijas de Regreso a Casa that helps the children and families of the murdered women of Juarez. We also received a lot of support from other activists, artists and journalists such as Diana Washington Valdez and forensic specialist Oscar Maynez. By April 2006, we had our script ready and began independently raising funds to shoot our documentary. This meant organizing two fundraising dinners, including a silent art auction, and sending countless emails to friends, family and contacts asking for donations.

Once we had successfully raised the necessary funds, we traveled to Mexico and shot on location in Ciudad Juarez and Mexico City for three weeks in late July and August 2006.

While we were in Ciudad Juarez, we were assisted and guided by the two amazing women, Marisela and Maite. They were essential in providing us with information and setting up interviews with the children and their grandmothers, who welcomed us into their homes and were open to all our questions. We were extremely grateful for their generosity and touched by their courageous hearts.

Juarez has truly been a labor of love and dedication. We independently produced and filmed this feature-length documentary and are proud to have been able to provide a deeper insight into the femicide in Ciudad Juarez as well as obtain testimonies from prominent Mexican women about the brutal violence against women in Mexico and the government corruption that continues to perpetuate violence and injustice.

As women and filmmakers, we truly hope that our documentary will raise more awareness about the subject of femicide and violence against women. We also hope that it motivates people to get involved in learning more about these issues, to take action to stop and prevent any form of violence or discrimination against women and to promote justice and equality not only in Mexico but in all societies of the world.

Source: film website, www.lasperlasdelmarfilms.com/juarez 

For more information on the San Miguel Walk to End Domestic Violence, contact Shelley Bull at 044 (415) 114-8648 or shelleybull@gmail.com . Sign-up sheets will be available at the film premiere.

Cinemateca

José Luis’s Pick’n’Tip

The Pick: The Devil’s Miner

This is a great film with a strong message and harsh reality check. You get an in-depth look at the challenging life of a child miner. The harsh lifestyle he faces on a daily basis obliterates what we consider our daily dilemmas. It is a true wake-up call. There are so many children in this world living such harsh lives that we are unaware of. This movie will definitely make you more aware of how children in poverty live. This film faithfully captures the day to day reality of those who must live and toil there. It is not easy to watch this film, but for those strong enough to do so, the rewards will be many. Here are a few basic facts that may enhance your viewing experience: the heat in the mines is constant and oppressive; the cold outside the mines is damp and bone-chilling; the altitude of 14,300 ft provides little oxygen and makes breathing difficult; the air inside the mines has less than a third the oxygen of the air outside the mines so air must be pumped in via hoses and pumps (but the smaller mines can only afford to turn on the air pumps for a few hours during the day); everyone chews cocoa leaves because it aids oxygen absorption and curbs hunger (there are no overweight miners) – the miners rely on the cocoa leaves for survival, it is not recreational drug use. Perhaps after seeing this movie you will be motivated to be more grateful for what you have and to take some small action to help those who desperately need it.

The Tip: Important: To provide the best view-ing experience, show times for some movies may be adjusted to accommodate their length. Check the schedule carefully. Ticket price is 50 pesos and discount cards buy 12 shows for 450 pesos. Starting Monday, after 11am, buy your tickets in advance for any movie or show of the week. If you have a discount card, collect your pass to secure a seat; don’t take the risk of being locked out. Like to receive this info by email? Write to José Luis at alephamour@hotmail.com.  Thank you.


Beautiful Boxer (2005)
Monday, January 7 at 8:30pm
Wednesday, January 9 at 7pm
Foreign Gay Dramas, Thai w/ English subtitles, 118 minutes.
Director: Ekachai Uekrongtham
Cast: Asanee Suwan, Sorapong Chatree, Orn-Anong Panyawong, Nukkid Boonthong. 
Asanee Suwan portrays kickboxer Parinya Charoenphol, who’s harboring an unusual secret: He’s a transvestite. Inspired by a famous Thai pugilist who lived two drastically different lives, this moving film recounts Parinya’s painful attempts to exist in paradoxical worlds. To fund the sex change he longs for, Parinya earns money in the ring, participating day after day in the ultimate male sport.


Music Special
Leningrad Cowboys: Total Balalaika Show (1994)
Only show Tuesday, January 8 at 6:30pm. World Music English, 55 min.Director: Aki Kaurismaki
Cast: Silu Seppala, Sakke Jarvenpaa, Mauri Sumen, Mato Valtonen, Pemo Ojala, Ekke Niiva.
Russia’s renowned Alexandrov Red Army Ensemble jams with Finland’s outlandish rockers the Leningrad Cowboys as 70,000 people cheer in this concert video.Change is definitely in the air as the Cold War comes to a close and Red Army musicians join the Leningrad Cowboys on a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven.” The odd pairing of these two groups results in an inspiring collaboration.

Women and 
the War in Iraq
Movie and Public Forum
Wednesday, January 9 at 5:30pm
Social Documentary, English, 20 min.
A cooperative effort of the Seattle Women Lawyers and WildIris-Media, this rough cut of an upcoming documentary – Female Faces of War shows some unique perspectives on how the war in Iraq has affected women worldwide. Director Kiya Bodding-ton interviews an American soldier who served in Iraq, a mother who sent her son to war, an advocate for military sexual assault victims, and a local woman. A question and answer period immediately follows this 20-minute documentary.


The Devil’s Miner (2005)
Thursday, January 10 at 7:30 pm.
Friday, January 11 at 3pm
Friday, January 11 at 5:30pm
Director: Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani
Social & Cultural Documentary, Spanish w/ English subtitles, 82 min.
Filmmakers Davidson and Lad-kani pan their cameras beneath the surface of Bolivia’s Cerro Rico silver mines, a place so dark, depressing and frightening that locals believe it’s the devil’s home. Chronicling the daily ordeal of 14-year-old breadwinner Basilio Vargas – who chews coca leaves on his way to work to numb his persistent, primordial terror – this somber documentary captures the hellish realities of fear.

Juarez: The City Where Women are Disposable
Fri, Jan 11 at 7:30pm 
Directors: Alex Flores, Lorena Vassolo
Social documentary, English, full-length film.
Someone is killing women by the hundreds in Ciudad Juarez, but the crimes are shrouded in mystery and silence. This independent documentary directed by two outraged and inspired Latina women sheds light on the answers to some of these questions. Why are women being killed in Ciudad Juarez and who is killing them? Why isn’t the Mexican government doing anything? Why isn’t there more international attention and action to remedy blatant human rights violations? When and how will justice prevail? 

Musical Saturdays:
La Bohème
Saturday, January 12 at 2:30pm, 112 minutes
La Bohème is an opera in four acts by Giacomo Puccini to an Italian libretto by Luigi Illica and Giuseppe Giacosa, based on Scènes de la vie de Bohème by Henri Murger. One of his best works as well as one of the most romantic operas ever composed, it is arguably today’s most popular opera. Ruggero Leoncavallo composed an opera of the same name and it is based on the same story, but with his own libretto. His La Bohème, which was premiered in 1897, focuses more on the Musetta and Marcello relationship, rather than that of Mimì and Rodolfo as in Puccini’s version. Leoncavallo’s version is almost never performed, while Puccini’s is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire. It appears on Opera America’s list of the 20 most-performed operas in North America as Number 2, second only to Madame Butterfly, also a masterpiece by Puccini.

Sunday Piano Matinee:
Edvard Grieg’s 
Lyric Pieces
Pianist: Age Kristoffersen
Sunday, January 13 at 2pm