Seen and Heard 2013

Overview

The stories we see on screen become the stories we tell ourselves as a person and a society. So it matters that the default story character is a dude — specifically, only 10% of protagonists in our major motion pictures, or a third of ensemble casts, is female (Bechdel test, drive this point home). It turns out there's one simple fix for this: have women direct, write, produce or edit the film. As the organisers of the Seen and Heard film festival point out, having at least one female director bumps up women's screentime by 25%, and one female writer by 33% — but only 38% of 2011's top 250 films had women in any major production roles. Jeez Louise.

Seen and Heard is out to spread awareness in us filmgoers and simultaneously celebrate the achievements of women in film. At the Red Rattler over three consecutive Thursdays in March, they'll screen short, mid, and feature-length films that have a woman's (not necessarily gentle) touch. Included is Australian feature Black & White & Sex, which has eight actresses play the singular, seductive character of Angie; Puerto Rican Tribeca Film Festival selection Gabi, the story of an independent woman in her 30s who's tested when she has to return to her small town; and Ali Russel's study of the personal meanings of Native Title, Keeper.

Image from Black & White & Sex.