WAM! Movies

One of the joys at WAM! was seeing all but 2 of the 5 free independent films, 4 of which were documentaries. All were made by women.

Friday night I saw The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo. One fact that has stuck with me: The "Special Victims Unit" which handles Child Protection and Sex Crimes is a one room shack with a typewriter and only one police officer. The officer is a female who, when asked how she does all of this by herself, says "I work with the heart of a mother." Sadly, though laws are in place around child welfare and sex crimes, it is very difficult to enforce them.

At 10:00 Friday night they showed "Who's Afraid of Kathy Acker?", but I decided that I didn't want to travel home on the subway and bus too late at night. So, I skipped it.

On Saturday afternoon they showed Girl Inside. It was about the three year journey of one transgender from male to female. Very interesting. Very humanizing. Definitely deepened my understanding and compassion.

At 6:00 Saturday night filmmaker Deborah Kampmeier showed her film "Hounddog" starring Dakota Fanning and Robin Wright Penn (among other great actors). It has been talked about in the media somewhat because of the controversial rape scene. It took Kampmeier 13 years to get it made and released. I'm glad she did.

Sunday afternoon "Club Native" was shown, but I decided to go home before it started.

Really wonderful, intense, provocative films.