 Spotlight On:
"Masterpieces are not single and solitary births; they are the outcome of many years of thinking in common, of thinking by the body of the people, so that the experience of the mass is behind the single voice." -Virginia Woolf
In no medium is this more evident than film. A film can be made by a single person with one voice and one set of experiences. But for a film to be made great, it must speak for many, reflect experiences shared by many, and resonate with many.
Not surprisingly, great films have become a powerful vehicle for change. With the technology for shooting and watching now affordable and ubiquitous, film is rapidly becoming the most effective means of powerful communication, even from the most censored societies.
"Today, women in Muslim-majority countries still face many legal and cultural impediments to their basic freedoms and civil rights." says Catinca Tabacaru, founder of Women's Voices Now. "But no group is better equipped to present the issues facing women of the Muslim world to an international audience than the women who live and breathe them each day."
So Women's Voices Now (WVN) is hosting an international festival of films about women living in predominantly Muslim countries and films about Muslim women living in non-Muslim countries.
The festival has two major components. One will take place in Los Angeles, March 17-19, 2011, with cash prizes of over $35,000 to be awarded. (To get news related to this event, use the links in the top-right to follow WVN and Benefeast on Facebook and Twitter).
The other component is online, and is happening right now! Nearly 100 shorts (3 to 30 minutes in duration) have been uploaded already, available to everyone here.
Watch films such as Feminin Masculin, by Sadaf Foroughi (Iran)
And Alka Sadat's Half Value Life (Afghanistan).
By collecting and promoting films such as these, Women's Voices Now not only helps break down obstacles facing women living in the Muslim world, but also helps break down our own inabilities to understand the nuances of their lives.
To make it all happen (including assissting with the trasportation costs of getting the winners to attend the festival in L.A.), WVN needs to raise $18,000.
Please join WVN (and some guest poets, artists, filmmakers and DJs) at their Winter White Benefit, December 14th in NYC! To register through Benefeast, click here. Make sure to wear white!
Of course, there are many other ways to help WVN with Benefeast:
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To make a donation to Women's Voices Now, click here.
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To create your own fundraising event for WVN, login to Benefeast and click here.
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To list Women's Voices Now as a nonprofit you support, click here.
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To browse or buy Bazaar items for Women's Voices Now, click here.
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To sell an item on the Bazaar to benefit Women's Voices Now, click here.
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