Quick, name three female directors.
Does your list include Debra Pascali-Bonaro of “Orgasmic Birth,” Amy Kalafa of “Two Angry Moms” or Margot Roth of “Fifty Nude Women: A Musical Montage?”
If not, you haven’t heard the buzz surrounding the second annual Baltimore Women’s Film Festival, screening 100 documentaries, narratives and shorts through Sunday.
“I loved ‘Orgasmic Birth’ but didn’t realize when the review committee selected it that we were tapping into what people were really interested about,” said festival co-founder Marisa Cohen about the controversial film discussed on an upcoming episode of ABC’s “20/20.” “The film does such a good job explaining the controversies of natural, at-home childbirth … It’s the kind of film you wouldn’t necessarily get to see at a ‘regular’ festival.”
Cohen, a 34-year old Lutherville native, created this weekend’s film marathon after an audience member stormed out of a previous film festival she helped organize because of the lack of female filmmakers involved.
“It was mortifying, but she was right,” Cohen said. “I just started thinking I wanted to do something that encouraged women filmmakers to celebrate and recognize their achievements.”
Cohen expects a few thousand to attend the festival — with a bump in attendance thanks to two screenings presented as Free Fall Baltimore events.
One of the two free and family-friendly screenings tackles women in sports with a series of short documentaries. “Down and Derby” may remind you of our Charm City Roller Girls as it profiles an Ottawa roller derby team. Another film, “Kick Like a Girl,” follows a soccer team of undefeated third-grade girls who take on the boys division.
Worlds away, less fortunate children living on Cambodia’s streets are the focus of the documentary “What I See When I Close My Eyes,” showing Sunday. One profiled girl wishes simply to have enough soap while a boy dreams of helping drug addicts become clean.
“Most of the children living on the street — there are about 20,000 — go into the sex trade or are absorbed into street gangs that move in packs for survival sake,” said director Leslie Hope. “I hope people get out of the children’s stories, told in their own voices and life-sized self-portraits, that they are just like our kids. All they really want is to have families and be loved.”
Half of all proceeds from the festival’s ticket sales will benefit The Johns Hopkins Avon Foundation Breast Center.
IF YOU GO
Baltimore Women’s Film Festival
When: Various times through Sunday
Where: Landmark Theatre
645 S. President St., Baltimore
Tickets: $10 for single pass; $80 for VIP all-access pass.
For schedule and film synopsis, visit bwfilmfestival.com.
