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The inaugural Boston Women’s Film Festival—the only local women’s film festival—kicks off with four days of films at the Museum of Fine Arts and The Brattle Theatre. In addition to screening the latest movies by women around the globe, the festival will host panel discussions with industry creators. We’ve checked out the offerings and handpicked an array of events for you to check out during the Sept. 27–30 run.
Friday, Sept. 28
8:30 pm
$13/person
Museum of Fine Arts
Photo courtesy of the Boston Women’s Film Festival
Two-faced: The masked performance artist Narcissister from Narcissist Organ Player
This autobiographical film of the masked, avant-garde contemporary performance artist Narcissister (NSFW) provides footage of her coming-of-age story alongside clips of the performances her experience has inspired. The film shows an in-depth, spectacle-heavy glimpse into the mind of the artist known for her observations of gender, racial identity, and sexuality.
Preceding the screening, local multimedia artist Lani Asuncion will perform her piece BLOODLESS live in the Remis Auditorium. The piece dives into the annexation of Hawaii and its colonization by American sugar planters. Asuncion’s father grew up on one of the plantations, and that connection looms large in her identity and her work.
‘All About Nina’ (Spotlight Screening)
Saturday, Sept. 29
7 pm
$13/person
Brattle Theatre
Photo courtesy of the Boston Women’s Film Festival
No laughing matter: All About Nina follows a comedian on her romantic journey
All About Nina represents a new genre of contemporary romantic dramedy with a stinging edge. In the film, the raunchy feminist comedian Nina moves to L.A. to separate from an abusive lover and audition for a new comedy show. There she meets Rafe, who threatens her firm anti-commitment policy with his persistent pursuit of her affection. For all ambitious, creative women who have dealt with the dating scene, All About Nina is a complex, relatable breath of fresh air.
‘What They Had’ (Sneak Preview Screening)
Sunday, Sept. 30
4 pm
$13/person
Museum of Fine Arts
Photo courtesy of the Boston Women’s Film Festival
Pillow talk: A scene from What They Had with Academy Award winning actress Hilary Swank
Writer-director Elizabeth Chomko’s debut film, What They Had, follows a family in the throes of crisis. After Ruth, an elderly Alzheimer’s patient, wanders out into a blizzard, her children Bridget (Hilary Swank) and Nicky must convince their father that it’s time to put her in a nursing home. Memory plays a huge role in the film as Ruth’s husband remembers the better times of their lifelong love affair.
Though centered on a sorrowful event, there are light, comedic moments in the story as Bridget and Nicky deal with other stressors like Bridget’s daughter, who was kicked out of college for drinking, and Nicky’s financial woes.
Sunday, Sept. 30
6:30 pm
$13/person
Museum of Fine Arts
Photo courtesy of the Boston Women’s Film Festival
Critically acclaimed: On Her Shoulders won the best documentary director award at Sundance
Co-presented by the Massachusetts Immigrant and Refugee Advocacy (MIRA) Coalition and the Independent Film Festival, Boston, the documentary film On Her Shoulders tells the story of 23-year-old Nadia Murad, a woman who escaped the 2014 genocide of the Yazidis and sexual trafficking in Iraq. Murad once dreamed of opening a beauty salon in her village and now she fights to bring ISIS to justice.
On Her Shoulders was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 2018 Sundance Film Festival and director Alexandria Bombach won the award for best documentary director.
The film reveals not only the terrors Murad’s people experience at the hands of ISIS but also the challenges the human rights activist faces in fighting against them, when at times she would prefer to live a normal life.
‘Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts’
Saturday, Sept. 29
9:30 pm
$13/person
Brattle Theatre
Photo courtesy of the Boston Women’s Film Festival
Bag lady: Marlina totes way more than a lipstick in her purse
Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts is a spaghetti Western like you’ve never seen it before. The feminist, Indonesian film by filmmaker Mouly Surya tells the revenge story of Marlina, who survives an attack from a group of rapist thieves. Not only does she persevere, but she also gives the attackers their due with poison berries and a machete that she’s been keeping in case of this very situation.
She heads out on a mission to confess her crimes, traveling by bus, foot, and horse across Sumba. Throughout her journey, she carries the head of one of her tormentors in a sack. The deadpan, disquieting film offers the story of a flipped power dynamic in which Marlina is the one riding into the sunset, though perhaps not as joyously as her Western counterparts.
