The Power of Women | Orpheum Theater
Sunday March 31, 2-5pm

Life through an Intersectional lens: An inclusive film session dedicated to empowering and inspiring all within our community
Brought to you in partnership with The HeArt Box & The She Wolf Project

Join us alongside many artists and nonprofits to close Women’s History Month.

This year's International Women’s campaign theme, ‘Inspire Inclusion’ underscores the crucial role of inclusion in achieving gender equality.
We call for action to break down barriers, challenge stereotypes, and create environments where all women, and nonbinary, genderqueer, gender nonconforming and transgender individuals are valued and respected.

Buy your Pass & Support Independent Filmmaking!

What's on?!

Frontline
Nicole Southwell, 2023
Frontline follows a resilient group of women who use running, friendship, and adventure as their antidote to burnout from working in healthcare. Together, they’re training to trail run Mont Blanc, circumnavigating Europe’s highest peak over 10 days and 112 miles. Their journey is transformative.

SHRED
Giovanna Trujillo, 2023
A group of queer Latinx skaters struggle with crippling mental health and societal expectations in Southern California. In their local skate community, they find cathartic release, chosen family and mastery of empowerment.
*Director Giovanna Trujillo here in person

Fifth Tide
The Swell Huntress’s Lena Kamna & Christina Gindl, 2023
Winter swells, thundering waves, sharp reefs, paddling larger waves with guns, and the struggle and joy that comes with all of that. FIFTH TIDE shows the life of two women during the rough Portuguese winter season. It shows their connection to the ocean, waves, and nature, and how they found sisterhood through all of this.

Chicas al Agua
Liz McGregor, Boondocs Media, 2023
You can count the number of female paddlers in Futaleufú, Chile on one hand... and they want to change that. After many riverside matés and floating conversations, the idea to create a kayak course for local teenage girls was hatched. Thanks to a committed group of women from around the globe, what started as a dream is now an inspirational contribution to the local community.

The Ghost Rainforest
John Davies, 2022
Told from the perspective of indigenous activist Narubia Werreria, ‘The Ghost Rainforest’ follows a group of five indigenous leaders and activists from the Amazon, making an emotionally charged and once in a lifetime journey to a little known and desperately rare temperate rainforest habitat on the West Coast of Scotland. The visit is set amidst the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, a moment in history the world needed to listen to them, as ‘guardians of the forests’, but instead left them feeling ignored and sidelined. They bring their ancestral wisdom and deep spiritual connection with nature to Scotland’s Rainforest to carry out a sacred blessing, connect distant communities and share a message of resilience and hope, to weave our existence back into the web of life. The film focuses on the importance of indigenous wisdom to reconnect to these habitats before it’s too late.

—-intermission—-

Voices of Vanilla
Maureen Maloney, 2023
Although many take vanilla for granted, this difficult and dangerous crop could be a lifeline out of poverty for farmers in Madagascar. Will the women responsible for vanilla cultivation be able to weather the storms that threaten its very existence?
Join us on this journey to uncover the truth behind one of the world’s most beloved spices and to support the women and farmers at the heart of the vanilla industry.
*Director Maureen Maloney here in person

Dhye Dreams
Shanta Nepali, 2023
In the remote Tibetan villages of Upper Mustang Nepal, climate change has desiccated the landscape. The water table has dropped drastically, forcing the abandonment of the ancient village of Dhye. " Dhye Dreams,” is a 30-minute documentary that intimately explores the lives of three women fighting against their fate: Sonam Sangmo, Kunchok Dolkar, and Lhakpa Choezon. Most of the villagers have moved down to a river-fed valley and the new frontier town of Chambaleh, where they hope to grow a commercial apple crop. But Kunchok and Lhakpa are staying with their beloved livestock and fields, up in the mountains. Their stories highlight the resilience and struggle for the survival of isolated Himalayan villages battling against dramatic climate change.

Forward
Palmer Morse & Matthew Mikkelson, Sprucetone Films, 2023
While navigating a myriad number of life challenges from being her mom’s caretaker, working several jobs, to facing housing insecurity, Anjelica Avella turned to the outdoors in her mid-twenties to improve her mental health. Despite feeling the benefits of time spent outside for her well-being, the lack of other plus-size women of color she was encountering on trail was noticeable. In an effort to form a community, Anjelica began leading weekend hikes and trips for other women who too were seeking others with shared lived experiences. Forward chronicles Anjelica’s perspective in a space that has historically excluded individuals like her and shares a profound connection between women who once felt sidelined and are now a catalyst for change.
*Runner Anjelica Avella here in person

Above the Noise
Adam deSilva, 2023
Above The Noise is a documentary short that explores how athlete Maja Kuczynska uses her sport to escape the chaos of the modern world.

Festival Program: https://indd.adobe.com/.../368d06ba-b3ef-457a-a258...