See what the girls have been filming lately

Los Angeles Times

See what the girls have been filming lately

The American Cinematheque's Focus on Female Directors

aims for a celebratory dynamic.

By Susan King

January 10, 2008

THE American Cinematheque's third annual Focus on

Female Directors tonight is more than just a screening

of shorts. It's a chance to empower women, especially

young women, to make movies.

"From the get-go, our idea was to create an event that

wasn't just a screening," says Andrea Richards, author

of "Girl Director," who organized the evening with Kim

Adelman (author of "The Ultimate Guide to Chick

Flicks") and the Cinematheque's Andrew Crane. "We

wanted to have some sort of celebratory dynamic -- to

get people in who had never made a film before and

say, 'Here is the process; it's not rocket science.' "

"So much of our perspective is overlooked in the media

and commercial films," says Mariam Jobrani, whose "The

Fighting Cholitas" -- an award-winning 2006 short

about female wrestlers in Bolivia -- will be shown. "I

think it's about time we got out there and just told

our own stories and put out the way we feel."

Richards, Adelman and Crane have balanced the evening,

alternating shorts by well-known filmmakers and

newcomers. "We are looking for name filmmakers that

people are excited to see their films, even if they

don't want to support female filmmakers," says

Adelman. " The first year we had a Sofia Coppola short,

and this year we have a Mira Nair short ["Migration"].

"The program also features Jennifer Aniston and Andrea

Buchanan's "Room 10," based on a true story made for

Glamour magazine's Reel Moments short film series;

Sophie Barthes' "Happiness," about a lonely woman

working in a condom factory who buys a box of

happiness; "Little Miss Sunshine" directors Valerie
Faris and Jonathan Dayton's 2001 music video "Sexual

Revolution"; Hilary Goldberg's twist on film noir, "In

the Spotlight"; Michelle Hung's exploration of

sisterhood, "Chinese Dumplings"; and Sarah Wickliffe's

animated "Art's Desire," which won a 2007 Student

Academy Award and is about a character in a painting

who decides to redraw his environment.

"The inspiration for this was wanting to do something

about a character having the power to change," says

Wickliffe. "You don't like what your surroundings are,

so go out and change it and make a new one foryourself."

Rounding out the evening is 1913's "How Men Propose,"

directed by Lois Weber, who was a head of production

at Universal nearly a century ago. "We were so excited

about the Lois Weber short [because] it makes a kind

of historical link in terms of community," says

Richards.

"And that it didn't all start with Sofia Coppola,"

echoes Adelman.

FOCUS ON FEMALE DIRECTORS

WHERE: Egyptian Theatre, 6712 Hollywood Blvd.,Hollywood

WHEN: 7:30 tonight

PRICE: $7 to $10

INFO: (323) 466-3456,

http://www.egyptiantheatre.com/