M.A.L.I. Women's Film & Performance Arts Conference

Ten Years Of Blowin' Up A Spot Herstory - Community Media Activism

The Media Arts & Literacy Institute and the Blowin' Up A Spot Community Studio was founded by Angela Williamston aka Poet On Watch in Houston, TX in 1998. Going ten years strong, Blowin' Up A Spot Community Studio has produced and created visual media and audio communication that promotes positive cultural expression and interaction in the arts. For the past five years the Media Arts & Literacy Institute and the Blowin' Up A Spot Community Studio have been continuously supported and funded in part by the Texas Commission Of The Arts and the City of Austin's Cultural Arts Department.

Déjà Cresencia Bernhardt - Austin, TX

Guerilla Midwife, follows Ibu Robin Lim into the trenches of her work. From Bali, where hemorrhage after childbirth is a leading cause of death, into the tsunami disaster zone in Aceh where her battle is fought with only one weapon, love. In this culturally mesmerizing, heart-wrenching documentary, you will discover why we must reinvent our protocols for pregnancy and childbirth in order to preserve our Planet’s Humanity. Tsunami Notebook, records survivors near the epicenter of the natural disaster as they grasp for atonement

Guerilla Midwife - Friday, May 27th 8:45pm
@ Lipstick 24 (outside stage)
Q&A May 27th 9:45pm Lipstick 24 (outside stage)

Tsunami Notebook - Saturday, May 28th 3:30pm @ Long Center

Cara Hagan - North Carolina

Kitchen Table a funny little dance film about what happens when the men have left the picture and the women are left to their own devices! Two 1950s domestics share various facets of their friendship and day-to-day experiences in this comedic yet poignant short.

Thursday May 26th 8:45pm @ Stompin' Grounds

M. Asli Dukan - New York

73, a short science fiction film, speculates a future New York, owned and operated by a large corporate entity.

M.O.M.M. is inspired by the work of Octavia E. Butler.

Orishas, what if the Yoruban Orisha, Oya, was called to earth but loses her memory of who she is on her journey there? She wanders modern day Harlem encountering its present day inhabitants and other gods in disguise as she tries to understand her reason for existence in this modern day setting.

Invisible Universe African American science fiction, fantasy, and horror—all of which fall under speculative fiction—has been developing for over a century now. Its tradition has its roots throughout the African Diaspora, but for Americans the voyage into a fantastical world has held a special appeal. Rising out of a need to escape from the lasting essence of slavery, the emergence of Jim Crow, and second class citizenry, utopian fiction provided hope for a better future.

73 - Thursday, May 26th @ 7:30 pm Stompin' Grounds
M.O.M.M. - Friday, May 27th @ 8:45pm Lipstick 24
Orisha's- Friday, May 27th @ 10pm Lipstick 24
Invisible Universe - Saturday May 28th @ 9 pm Lipstick 24
Do You Mind --- Saturday May 28th @ 6:15 pm Long Center

Timeca M. Seretti - Austin, TX

Drama, a short film on the subject of childhood bullying, has been the 2010 Official Selection of the Austin Film Festival, Reel Women SXSW Showcase, The Arizona Black Film Showcase, the Montreal International Black Film Festival, the San Antonio Film Festival, the Texandance Film Festival, and the BAM (Black Arts Movement) Festival.

Thursday, May 26th 8pm @ Stompin' Grounds
Friday, May 27th 12am @ Lipstick 24 (outside stage)
Q&A May 27th 12:20am @ Lipstick 24 (outside stage)

Maganthrie Pillay - South Africa

Not Just Faces is a film about four radical Southern African woman activists, who transform their own lives and that of their communities from South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe. Against unimaginable odds fighting patriarchal and traditional paradigms, stigma, discrimination and these women emerge as heroines. They find ways to challenge their society, their in- laws, their husbands. They find solutions for other women and children saving lives every day.

Saturday, May 28th 11pm Lipstick 24 (outside stage)
Q&A May 28th 12am Lipstick 24 (outside stage)

Linda Garcia-Merchant - Chicago

Thresholds is the urban tale about pushing barriers in the moments lived between each breath. Three people, Detective Gomez, Nancy and her son Benny, are touched by life changing events that will shatter assumptions encompassing the edge of humanity.

Friday May 27th 8:15pm @ Lipstick 24 (inside stage)

Chelo Alvarez-Stehle - Los Angeles

Sold In America is a glimpse into the world of sex trafficking in the United States through the stories of three women sold at an early age, which we now meet as empowered survivors. After conquering their tragic past, our characters offer voices of hope for those still in captivity today, and a call to action for us all to create awareness and prevent modern-day slavery.

Friday May 27th 11:45pm @ Lipstick 24 (outside stage

Tye Green - Minnesota

TH3M! is what happens when a series like Girlfriends overlaps with the sizzle surrounding the infamous L Word meets the comfort and ubiquity of Friends. Marked with the characteristics of fire and ice and certain to captivate the world. TH3M! is the perfect solution to an unanswered desire that burns within audiences everywhere. TH3M! is an awakening heart to a populace finally ready to bring a new era to primetime television.

Friday, May 27th 7pm @ Lipstick 24 (inside stage)

Angela Chen - Austin, TX

By Jude is a glimpse into the effects of a father's absence on his family, presented through the eyes of his children.

Friday May 27th 8pm @ Lipstick 24 (outside stage)

Cole Productions

TOMBOY Alex (short for Alejandra) loves soccer, the colour red, and playing the trumpet. The other kids think those are “boy” things and tease her mercilessly. After running home in tears, her mom reassures her that she is great just the way she is.

Saturday May 28th 8pm @ Lipstick 24 (inside stage)

Carol Jacobsen

CENSORIOUS! is a funny, provocative, feminist view of the Culture Wars narrated by artists Carolee Schneeman, Martha Wilson, Holly Hughes, Renee Cox, Barbara DeGenevieve and others who have fought major battles against censorship of their politically charged work.

Saturday May 28, 2011 4pm @ Long Center

Lauren Wagner

The Counter 1962 Alabama. A changing world view visits a small town diner when one day three black students attempt to desegregate the whites only lunch counter. The diner's waitress must decide if she will follow the local law of segregation or help the students while members of the town watch her every move.

Saturday May 28th 2:15pm @ Long Center

Sharon Arteaga - Austin, TX

When I Grown Up Michaela hates helping her mom sell tacos out of their van every morning before school. The film is about two generations, with two different dreams, and the point where they must intersect.

Saturday, May 28th 2:45pm @ Long Center

Chithra Jeyaram - Austin, TX

Refugee Musings Hardships, violence and loss are part of refugee life. Over 80,000 people have lived in about 135 camps for almost 20 years. They never become Indian citizens as India does not assimilate refugees into its society. Once a refugee you remain a refugee. Refugee musings is a story of three women who share a segment of their lives.

Foreign Puzzle The film is a story female dancer and her son who in their own ways are trying to understand, negotiate and overcome the disintegration breast cancer has caused to their life. The film deals with disease, human body, creative movement and dance. A dysfunctional human body is a chaotic system and it throws everything out of whack and as a filmmaker, I am interested in telling stories of the disruptions and the consequences of illness from unique perspectives.

Refugee Musings - Saturday, May 28th 5:30pm @ Long Center

Foreign Puzzle -Saturday May 28th 10pm
Lipstick 24 (outside stage)
Q&A May 28th, 10:15 p.m. Lipstick 24 (outside stage)

Jeannie Livingston

Who's On Top Is Alixe and Gwen's sexual disagreement the cause of their problems, or are their problems the cause of their sexual disagreement? And how should an artist nurture her vision: by seeking adventures on the edge or by staying home and writing poems? What's more real, our fantasies, or what we actually do?

Saturday May 28th 10:15pm @ Lipstick 24 (inside stage)

Cynthia J. Gomez

Land Water People Time is a documentary film about cultural and environmental loss and preservation in Northern New Mexico. Across the landscape of Northern New Mexico, people speak about the relationship between people, place and time.

Friday May 27th 10:30pm @ Lipstick 24 (outside stage)

MALI WOMEN'S FILM & PERFORMANCE ARTS CONFERENCE ARCHIVES

These are clips from past M.A.L.I. showcased films. This year marks our 10th year anniversary and we will showcase the best of our ten years in service to the women's media community locally, nationally and internationally. (All fim clips were granted permission by the makers.)