MSPIFF 2017 Faves

Thanks again to all the wonderful volunteers, projectionists, cleaning staff, box office staff, and programmers who made the 2017 Minneapolis/St. Paul a wonderful experience yet again.

Where were the Scandinavian films this year MSPIFF? I learned to love Scandinavian film at MSPIFF and really missed it this year, with few choices in the program. Will it come back next year? Here's one person hoping it does.

My three favorite films were directed by women:

The Sounding, written and directed and acted by Catherine Eaton. I'm really hoping and praying this gets a theatrical release of some sort, but I've seen no indication of that. If you do get to see it in the theater, stay to the end of the credits for this song. Sign up on her website for updates.

If you've ever been the outsider, if you've ever been pathologized for being who you are, if you have ever been silenced or muted against your will, see this film. I saw this one twice and now want to own it so I can see it again. And again.

Memories of a Penitent Heart, a documentary by. A shortened version of this 75 minute film will be on PBS's POV in June but the director says it will be available on DVD.

Sami Blood, directed by Amanda Kernell, a Sami woman herself, answers this question from the director: "Many older Samis left everything behind and became Swedish and I’ve always wondered; what happens to you if you cut all ties with your culture and history? And can you really become someone else?" I love Sami film and this one felt vividly real in ways Sami film hasn't in the past.

Most of the rest of the films I liked were directed by women (*) too.

Boundaries*: Three women from three countries try to reach across social boundaries in the face of sexism.

Untouchable is a documentary about the unintended consequences of sex offender laws.

Center of My World could only be made in a place like Germany. It tells the story of one gay teen's coming of age in a dysfunctional family. I'd like to see it again sometime. The film is available on DVD & BluRay but only in German right now.

Little Wing* is another coming of age film I'd like to see again. This one, about a girl who tries to find her absent father. It's surprising, and I won't spoil it for you. I don't know if you'll be able to see this one.

Dispatches From Cleveland* is a story about justice for Tamir Rice, as told in three parts.

There's a big dose of girls bullying each other in The World of Us*. Still, it's a satisfying film.

Whose Streets* documents activist lives in Ferguson, from their perspective, instead of the perspective most Americans got about it on CNN and Fox.

Signature Move* is a sexy and fun queer romp about two women trying to get together and do so over professional wrestling.

First Daughter and the Black Snake* documents Winona LaDuke's fight against Enbridge and for her people. And for the earth.

Fanny's Journey* tells the true story of a teenage girl leading over 30 children out of Nazi occupied France. The film demonstrates the full humanity of these children, including their ability to live in the moment in playing, even in the face of terror.

Dolores* is a documentary about Dolores Huerta, the woman you've never heard of who worked as Cesar Chavez's equal.

Starless Dreams documents seven years in a prison in Tehran. It's the kind of film you only find at MSPIFF.

The animated film Window Horses* follows one girl's quest to find her father in Iran after she is invited to a poetry festival there. The film is visual poetry. I'd like to see it again.

Tesoros* is a delightful kids adventure in a new place.

I knew nothing about Marie Curie* until this film, which humanizes her, except that she received two Nobel prizes for her work. I sure hope this becomes available in the US.

I don't usually say negative things about films I saw, but don't bother with You Can't Make the Same Mistake Twice and Aida's Secret. The first film is 3 hours of court tv in Canada, without any social or historical context. The second film should have been directed by a woman because if it had, you would have actually found out what her secret was and have it be centered on her experience and other women's experiences in Bergen Belsen. The film is all about her two sons and their hand-wringing about who their father is. Fuck the patriarchy.