Girl power at STF

  • by Raphaela Neihausen, March 06, 2009

image Text taken from Brooklyn Socialite’s blog:

GIRLS LIKE US. This is a great film from the late 90’s that I saw at Stranger than Fiction last night. Oh, how I love STF, I finally found a club that would have me as its member (this is a Marx Brothers reference, if you don’t get it, you can’t join the club!). The documentary made by a lovely lady couple, tracks 4 teenagers from the time they are 13-14 until they are 17-18. The girls, who all live in South Philly, speak candidly about sex, childbirth, their relationships with their family and friends and their goals in life. This film won Sundance back in the day and it’s easy to understand why. Like Trouble the Water it sort of magically captures those tragedies and joys of life, which are often rendered mundane, as people avert their eyes to experiences of “othered” social groups.  The 4 girls, 2 white, 1 black and one South Asian all seemed to struggle to define themselves independently of their relationships with men. While, their parents and guardians strove to keep them on a track towards college and career. 3 of the women, now pushing 30, joined us at the IFC center after for a Q&A. They all seem to have turned out quite well and consider their experience being in the film to have been enriching and not exploitative.

image British filmmakers and recent Sundance prize winners Havana Marking (AFGHAN STAR) and Kim Longinotto (ROUGH AUNTIES) stop by Stranger Than Fiction on their way back from the True/False Film Festival.

image GIRLS LIKE US filmmakers Jane Wagner and Tina DiFeliciantonio.

image “My girls” (assortment of high-school and college friends) - immigration consultant Daria Campion, journalist Elizabeth Mendez Berry and director of programming for The Cordoba Initiative Courtney Erwin.

image Filmmakers Howard Weinberg and Robin Hessman.

image Publisher Colin Robinson, director of Women Make Movies Debra Zimmerman and filmmaker Kim Longinotto.
image Dear friends Cydcharise Goler and Julie Asher.  More girls like me!

image Visiting filmmaker Maria Yatskova (director of MISS GULAG, all the way from Baku, Azerbaijan!) with her husband Emin and Thom.

image Filmmakers Jessi Epstein and Robin Hessman (visiting us from Boston).
image from GIRLS LIKE US Related Film/Screening:
GIRLS LIKE US by Jane C. Wagner and Tina DiFeliciantonio

Comments

No Comments Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.

Upcoming Screenings

Sep 20: THE HOUSE OF STEINBRENNER

image from THE HOUSE OF STEINBRENNER by Barbara Kopple
STF pre-season MONDAY SPECIAL (Season passes now on sale at early bird rate through Thurs. Sept. 16; Individual tickets go on sale Fri. Sept. 17, subject to availability) Love them or hate them, ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Sep 28: MARWENCOL

image from MARWENCOL by Jeff Malmberg
STF Fall Season Opening Night (Season passes now on sale at early bird rate through Thurs. Sept. 16; Individual tickets go on sale later in Sept.) STF kicks off its fall season with MARWENCOL, ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Oct 5: AMERICAN SPLENDOR

image from AMERICAN SPLENDOR by Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
(Season passes now on sale at early bird rate through Thurs. Sept. 16; Individual tickets go on sale later in Sept.) STF pays tribute to Harvey Pekar, who recently died, with this special screening ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Oct 12: ON COAL RIVER

image from ON COAL RIVER by Francine Cavanaugh & Adams Wood
ON COAL RIVER takes viewers on a gripping emotional journey into the Coal River Valley of West Virginia, where longtime local residents begin to uncover the toxic effects of America’s increased ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Oct 19: THE CANAL STREET MADAM

image from THE CANAL STREET MADAM by Cameron Yates
Until an FBI bust upended her life, Jeanette Maier was a successful New Orleans madam. Her discreet clientele included a number of powerful, high-ranking politicians. The ensuing very public trial - ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Oct 26: TAKING ON THE KENNEDYS

image from TAKING ON THE KENNEDYS by Joshua Seftel
“A film that would be mistaken for a Robert Altman political satire if it weren’t absolutely and horribly true.” —USA TODAY When Kevin Vigilante took on Patrick Kennedy for a seat in the U.S. House ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Nov 2: WO AI NI MOMMY (I LOVE YOU MOMMY)

image from WO AI NI MOMMY (I LOVE YOU MOMMY) by Stephanie Wang-Breal
In presenting WO AI NI MOMMY with the Sterling Award for Best US Feature this past June, the jury at Silverdocs noted: “The film dives so deeply into its story that the filmmaker’s hands disappear. ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Nov 9: WAR DON DON

image from WAR DON DON by Rebecca Richman Cohen
Profiled in Filmmaker Magazine’s 25 New Faces in Independent Film as an “up-and-comer poised to shape the next generation of independent film”, Rebecca Richman Cohen won Special Jury at SXSW and the ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Nov 16: 12TH & DELAWARE

image from 12TH & DELAWARE by Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady
Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, the filmmaking team behind the 2006 Oscar-nominated doc JESUS CAMP, take us on another controversial journey with 12TH & DELAWARE.  Description from Sundance 2010 ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Nov 23: MARLENE

image from MARLENE by Maximilian Schell
Director Maximilian Schell got the reclusive Marlene Dietrich to agree to appear in this documentary only on the stipulation that she not be photographed as she looked today. Instead, we only hear ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »

Nov 30: SURVIVING HITLER: A LOVE STORY

image from SURVIVING HITLER: A LOVE STORY by John-Keith Wasson
Winner of the Inspiration Award at the 2010 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival As a teenager in Nazi Germany, Jutta is shocked to discover she is Jewish. She joins the German resistance and meets ...
Get More info or Buy Tickets »