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NEWS RELEASE

Gender, Sexuality and Culture to be Focus of
1st Annual International Film Festival at CSUN

(NORTHRIDGE, Calif., Nov. 27, 2006) -- The construction of gender and the experience of sexuality from a non-heterosexist perspective will be the center of Cal State Northridge’s inaugural "2006 College of Humanities International Film Festival: Transgressive Gender, Sexuality, and Culture" from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1.

Free and open to the public, the festival will feature nine films from around the world in an effort to promote tolerance and understanding, said Beatriz Cortez, associate professor of Central American studies and a festival organizer.

The films will be screened in the Armer Theatre, located in Manzanita Hall at the southwest corner of the campus at 18111 Nordhoff St. in Northridge.

"We are convinced that there is a strong need for a space such as the one that this film festival will generate, since there are few spaces for visibility and discussion of alternative constructions of gender and sexuality, particularly from a variety of cultural perspectives," said Sheena Malhotra, associate professor of women’s studies and co-organizer of the festival.

The event provides the opportunity for different faculty members within the College of Humanities to present the films and lead discussions with students, faculty and the public, Malhotra said.

The festival’s program is as follows:

• 9:00 a.m. -- "El Palo/The Hold Up," Spain, 91 min. The story of four women who dress as men to rob a bank while facing their own private conflicts.
• 11:00 a.m. -- "Before Night Falls," USA/Cuba, 133 min. The portrait of openly gay Cuban author, Reinaldo Arenas, whose search for freedom defied poverty, censorship, exile and death.
• 1:30 p.m. -- "Recruiting," USA, 9 min. In this unconventional short, the sexual normativity and heterosexist identitarian politics that appear to be so persuasive in our society are redefined.
  "Arie," Germany/Italy, 15 min. The discovery of love told through dance.
• 2:15 p.m. -- "Beautiful Boxer," Thailand, 118 min. Based on the real life story of Parinya Charoenphol, a Muaythai kickboxer who underwent a sex change operation to become a woman.
• 4:30 p.m. -- "Rosita: A Documentary," Costa Rica/Nicaragua, 57 min. The story of parents who take on governments, the Catholic church and the medical establishment to fight for the rights of their nine-year-old daughter who has been raped.
• 5:45 p.m. -- "Masha Mom," Poland, 35 min. Filmed in Russia over a seven year period, the film follows Masha, a Russian American Jewish lesbian in her quest for motherhood.
• 6:30 p.m. -- "Hotel Gondolin," Argentina, 52 min. This film focuses on the importance of freedom regarding gender identities and its challenges as it looks at 30 transvestites who work as prostitutes to survive in an exclusionary society.
• 7:00 p.m. -- Reception
• 8:00 p.m. -- "The Journey," India, 107 min. The story of Kiran and Delilah as they journey from childhood friendship to romantic love, from secrecy to confronting society’s norms.

The International Film Festival will rotate topics on a yearly basis. Topics will celebrate the College of Humanities as a community of leaders who explore the diversities of cultures, thought, perspectives, literatures and languages of humanity; that critically reflect on and analyze multiple dimensions of human identity and experience; and that act as responsible global citizens committed to principles of freedom, equality, justice and participatory democracy, said Cortez.

Parking is $4 and available in Lot B3, located off of Darby Avenue and Prairie Street.

For more information, contact Malhotra at (818) 677-7217 or e-mail at sheena.malhotra@csun.edu.