When 96 percent of films are directed by men, the majority of whom are white, there is an increasing desire to see more diversity in the industry. Michelle Yates and Susan Kerns, professors at Columbia College Chicago, saw this as an opportunity to make a change.
In 2016, the Chicago Feminist Film Festival was founded and has since expanded each year. It was formed out of a “desire to want to highlight films by and about folks who are otherwise grossly underrepresented,” said Yates. “Which are extensively women, but also folks of color and also trans, queer and non-binary folks.”
On Oct. 30, Yates presented the Best of the Chicago Feminist Film Festival at North Central College. This included screening five short films and three episodes of a web series. The actual event screens 40 short films, two web series and three feature-length films or documentaries from all around the world. In 2018, around 90 percent of these films were created by women and non-binary filmmakers.
At NCC, Yates screened “The Little One” (Czech Republic), “Scrap Dolls” (U.S.), “Yo También” (Spain), “Real Artists” (U.S.) and “The Winkles” (France), as well as three episodes of the web series “Ctrl Alt Delete.”
From feeling out of place in your home country to the stigma surrounding female reproductive issues, all the way to comedy sketches set in an abortion clinic, these films showcased the struggles that those who the festival seeks to honor face in day-to-day life.
Following the screening, Yates answered questions from the audience and further explained how the festival operates. The phrase ‘feminist film festival’ tends to give the impression that what is being shown is focused on politically-correct social issues. While some films fit this narrative, this isn’t always the case.
“We’re not necessarily interested in holding to a kind of feminist purity politics so we’ve definitely had a lot of critiques lodged against us for some of the films we’ve elected to show,” said Yates.
Their screening committee, comprised of between 20 and 30 members, is interested in showing films that are “beautiful” and “aesthetically pleasing.” They also look at representation on-screen and behind the scenes, the technical components and whether or not it fits their program before deciding on what makes it into the festival.
“To be honest, we always get way more high-quality films than we have the ability to screen,” said Yates.
This is a good problem to have as more directors from various countries, races, genders and backgrounds submit their work every year. The 2019 Chicago Feminist Film Festival will be held Feb. 27 to March 1 at Columbia College. The event is free to encourage the highest level of accessibility, and according to Yates, “to invite as diverse an audience as possible.”
