Women in the Director’s Chair International Film and Video Festival
See Critic’s Choice. (HotHouse, 7:30)
The 45-minute documentary Motorcycle Diaries is a series of missed opportunities to delve into the experiences of women who ride motorcycles. Loosely linked interviews representing stops on a road trip taken by director Diane Howells and cinematographer Samantha Schutz are intercut with footage of competitions, riding clubs, and special events–all set to energetic music. But the commentary, which extends into voice-overs, is mainly rah-rah platitudes elicited from the various enthusiasts and pros. On the same program, Jean Cheng’s Sweet Potato, Vicky Yiannocetsos’s Melody’s Song, and Natasha Spencer’s The House She Flew In On. (LA) (HotHouse, 7:00)
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Short films and videos from the U.S. and Canada by Liza Johnson, Suzie Silver, Chelsea Walton, Yau Ching, Allyson Mitchell, Daaimah Mubashshir, Catherine Crouch, Carolynne Hew, Lisa Hayes, and Debra Anderson. I’ve seen only Walton’s four-minute animated Bird Watching, which manipulates the interaction between Tippi Hedren and Suzanne Pleshette in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Birds to tease out some of the lesbian subtexts. (JR) On the same program, live music by Humo and Sista Tambourine. (Hothouse, 9:00)
Six short works about immigrants assimilating in the U.S. By far the most accomplished is From Here to There, Maria Teresa Rodriguez’s poignant, imaginative tribute to her Colombian father and Irish mother; assembling archival footage, home movies, family photos, and personal reminiscences, Rodriguez not only reconstructs her blissful childhood but also reclaims her ethnic identity. Lisset Barcellos’s spunky, ironic Custom-Made recalls the pivotal events in the lives of a young seamstress and her Mexican father. Kristy Guevara-Flanagan’s El Corrido de Cecilia Rios records a Mexican community’s reaction to the murder of a high school girl; the sound track, with its street ballad eulogizing a bright life cut short, conveys more pathos than the inept imagery. Veronica Majano’s Calle Chula presents a giddy, impressionistic history of a neighborhood as seen through the eyes of a young El Salvadoran girl. Camille Billops’s Take Your Bags is an intriguing look at the loss of African heritage, though ultimately it’s spoiled by the filmmaker’s didacticism. (TS) On the same program, Fatimah Tobing Rony’s Demon Lover. (HotHouse, 12:30)
Eisha Marjara’s Indian-Canadian feature Desperately Seeking Helen follows its heroine from Quebec to Bombay as she tries to track down a Bollywood film star. On the same program, short works by Seema Shastri, Buboo Kakati, and Priya Ramasubban. (Viaduct Center, 7:00)
Four short videos, all by teams or collectives. This free event is limited to people ages 14 to 23. (Horizons Community Services, 6:30)
