Film Group May 26, 2021

UBC Emeriti – Film Group

Series Twelve – Ecofeminist Warriors

The films can be screened via the streaming sites listed with each film

Zoom discussions of each film will take place on: April 28, May 26 and June 30 at 4pm

Hosted by John LeBlanc

Series Twelve: Ecofeminism addresses the relationship between human beings and their surrounding world from a gender-based perspective, insisting upon equality for women within a patriarchy-dominated society while also demanding the ethical treatment of a nature suffering a similar patriarchal oppression.  Unlike Hollywood films (such as Interstellar) that present the relationship with nature from the perspective of patriarchal elites, which devalues human and natural diversity and democracy, ecofeminist films emphasize that we live in harmony with nature, instead of dominating it, with women playing a strong role in redressing that imbalance.  The first two films in the series (Spoor and Woman at War) feature examples of strong European women who defy their entrenched social orders to achieve their ecofeminist goals.  The third film (Women Without Men), situated in the strongly patriarchal culture of Iran, provides a more nuanced, artistic consideration of ecofeminist activism.

May 26 – Woman at War (2018) – directed by Benedikt Erlingsson (the much-loved Icelandic film, TV and theatre actor and director) focuses on Halla (an early 50s single woman, leading an otherwise responsible life) whose attack on an environmentally insensitive new aluminum smelter in Iceland’s highlands escalates to industrial sabotage as she attempts to thwart negotiations between the corporation and the Icelandic government even though her activism threatens her upcoming adoption of a Ukrainian child.  Counter-pointing the seriousness of the issue is a humorous tone, accomplished by the repeated appearance of a musical chorus and the director’s resistance of auteur seriousness and refusal to grant storytelling the power to transform lives.  STREAM VIA UBC LIBRARY CATALOGUE: SEARCH TITLE OF FILM.

To join the group, please email john.leblanc @ ubc.ca