15th Festival - 2003 : More than just movies: debates and discussions too!

This year, we have the Halle St Pierre, right near the Trianon, to get together to debate and discuss the following themes.

Saturday 8 November at noon: Act against lesbians’ growing invisibilisation?
«The public invisibilisation of lesbians (in the media, intellectual debate, and elsewhere) is nothing new. But it has been reinforced with the emergence of centrist gay politics and the rise of a hegemonic gay identity. And it is taking new shapes. While lesbians continue to be ignored, insults now fall like rain if anyone raises their voice in criticism, and we have recently begun to witness a kind of “positive” exclusion and censorship, that consists of filling the “L” in LGBT homeopathically, in a limited and inadequate way. Where lesbians were once forgotten, others are now speaking for them.
Lesbian exclusion from the Paris Archive project, the deletion of whole chapters of lesbian culture from the Dictionary of Gay and Lesbian Cultures published by Larousse, the absence of lesbians in the gay press, and Têtu magazine’s lawsuit against a lesbian activist are the most recent examples of what we are discussing. Should we react? If so, what shape should our actions take? Is separatism the solution? Does lesbian solidarity exist?»
Marie-Hélène Bourcier

Saturday 8 November at 14h : Homage to Elula Perrin, readings and lectures

Saturday 8 November at 18h :
After the film about Audre Lorde, who defined herself a "Black, lesbian, feminist, warrior, poet, mother", this debate will allow us to delve into the theme that is common to all her work (fiction, poetry, essays): the ties between racism, sexism, classism and homophobia.
With the participation of Rina Nissim, co-editor for the French translations of Lorde’s books. Other participants to be announced.

Sunday 9 november at noon : Lesbian and feminist movements: what is the current state of affairs between the two?
Discussion and debate with Natacha Chetcuti and Claire Michard, who co-edited Lesbianism/Feminism: Political Herstories Bibliothèque du féminisme, éditions L'Harmattan, 2003, based on the 3rd internatioanl French-language feminist research symposium, held in 2002.

Sunday 9 november at 14h : Women and prevention,
with the participation of Sida Info Service, and other organisations.
Must see: the moving documentary by Jacqui North, a portrait her friend Chrissy, who has Aids.
In terms of health care and prevention, lesbians in France are often misinformed or they face a worrying lack of information. In addition to being entirely invisible in health-information brochures and documents, they often see their doctors, particularly their gynecologists, much less than their straight counterparts, and have less testing done. It is difficult, in these conditions, to detect cancer, hepatitis, STDs, etc. Arame Mbodje, reference-doctor with Aids Info Service, will provide medical advice and information, while Elise Bourgeois-Fisson, from the Lavender Menace group at Act Up, and a member of the Lille-based Pink Flamingos will present their prevention work aimed at lesbians.

Sunday 9 november at 16h
A meeting with Florence Montreynaud, co-founder of the Chiennes de garde (She-Wolves) and La Meute (the Pack), after the film What Are We Doing Tonight? by the Belgian director Marie Vermeiren, in which a group of women in Bruxelles take direct action against an omnipresent (but not omnipotent) enemy: sexist advertising.

Sunday 9 november at 18h : Trans and lesbians, What can we do for each other? This year’s films on this topic are No Dumb Questions, by Melissa Regan, and Give or Take an Inch, by Lee Friedlandler.
Like lesbians, trans-gendered people reject or query their biological gender and/or how they were raised. Whatever our birth gender and however we were raised, we can self-identify as female, male, both or neither. How can trans-gendered and/or lesbian queries and analyses of the notion of gender enrich each other?
The discussion will be chaired by two Cineffable organisers, including Dominique Place, co-chair of Caritig, the Centre for Aide, Research and Information about Trans-sexuality and Gender identity.

Monday 10 november at 12h :
Présentation du roman de Marion Page "Le livre de Camille, roman du désir d'écrire", sorti l'année dernière aux Editions Geneviève Pastre, en présence de l’auteure.

Monday 10 november at 18h :
Homage to Monique Wittig In honour of her passing away this past January, we are showing her The Constant Journey, a play inspired by Don Quixote and filmed by Anne Faisandier, again this year. Wittig's fiction and essays had a tremendous influence on the lesbian and feminist movements both in France and abroad. They will be the object of a discussion as well as of readings. Something special to look forward to.