1st Gender Fest
by Outview Film Festival
In association with the
Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung-Office in Greece
27-29 January 2017
Booze Cooperativa –57 Kolokotroni St., Athens (close to Metro station ‘Monastiraki’)
Free entrance
” ‘Are you a boy or a girl?’, a question that I cannot detach from my life, ever since I can remember. Way before I discovered that my voice was too low for the sex I was assigned at birth, long before I discovered ‘the wasteland between the two sexes’, as Radclyffe Hall beautifully described it, I was trapped at five in the hands of a heterosexual couple who were trying to take off my swimsuit in order to see whether I was a boy or a girl” – Maria Cyber
Western societies have finally reached the moment of the biggest so far visibility of gender identity. Not the gender identity that can be forced upon a person with their birth certificate but the one that a person themselves are able to determine and that society should unquestionably accept. And what is needed is not just visibility, but equality between people of different gender identities, sexuality, religion, class or race.
From Friday January 27th till Sunday January 29th 2017 Outview Film Festival, in association with the Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung-Office in Greece, presents three thematic days that compile the first ever Gender Fest in Greece.
Gender Fest will be compered by Drag Queen Melita Skabeau. By combining stand up comedy, live singing and improvisation, she will compere the three-day event.
FRIDAY JANUARY 27
The Bo(d)y in their Eyes
A deep gaze into the history of trans, female masculinity and the coming out of people that had been active in the lesbian scene in the past and who wanted to be more masculine or wanted to define themselves as male, as well as a first look at intersex subjectivities. From pioneer Del LaGrace Volcano, whose lens captured the first drag kings in the 90’s, to contemporary photographer Amos Mac. Special guest Del LaGrace Volcano will give us a presentation of their work by talking about their ongoing collaborative project VISIBLY INTERSEX and by sharing their lived experience as an intersex parent, a Mapa.
The presentation will be followed by the screening of Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ film ‘The Trans List’, after which the special guest and protagonist Amos Mac will give us a presentation of his own work and will answer any potential questions of the audience. The evening will close with a meet-and-greet party.
SATURDAY JANUARY 28
A Woman Like Me
With the TV series entitled ‘Girls Like Us’ as a starting point, in which five trans girls talk about spiritual life, relationships, parties and everyday life, we dedicate this day to trans* female artists and personas from the film and music scene and the performance art. The first episode of the series will be screened at the Gender Fest right before the feature film by Ester Martin Bergsmark ‘Something Must Break’ – a remarkable story about friendship turning into big love between androgynous Sebastian and Andreas, who does not identify as a gay man. Special guests this evening will be Vanessa Lopez, who is a model and one of the protagonists of ‘Girls Like Us’, Tami T, who has scored ‘Something Must Break’ and who will give us a live music performance and, last but not least, Ms Vaginal Davis, performer, film producer, musician and proponent of the disruptive performance aesthetic known as ‘terrorist drag’, who will offer us a very special audiovisual performance.
ΚΥΡΙΑΚΗ 29 ΙΑΝΟΥΑΡΙΟΥ
Voices of Muslim Women: Freedom and Empowerment
In this section we give the stage to women from the Muslim world, from a western and a non-western point of view. Women speak through screenings, performances and discussions with the audience. Our special guests for this evening are art duo Samania, whose work combines movement, performance, photography, film, theory, and fashion, and is grounded in political and social critique around the subjects of gender, coloniality, and sexuality. Their film ‘Cloth’ deals with the notion of freedom and offers food for thought, especially regarding the way ‘freedom’ is understood in the western world in juxtaposition with the non-western world. Before Samania‘s performance we will have the chance to watch the film ‘Casablanca Calling’ by Rosa Rogers, following three women-spiritual guides, also known as Morchidat, in their endeavor to teach the value of tolerance, compassion and equality in Morocco’s changing society.
Gender Fest will have the honour to host DJ sets by The Beatches, four female DJs, famous for their sets in Athens’ night life, as well as the subversive dragtivist with lots of glitter, Zackie Oh!
– The space is not wheelchair accessible but our festival volunteers will be willing to give any assistance needed. If you wish to attend, please contact us via email at [email protected] or on the Outview Facebook page.
– There will be a simultaneous interpretation (with headphones) in English and in Greek.
– There will be interpretation in sign language.
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