The conversation surrounding the value of a film is not always an inclusive one. The vast majority of film critics are white men and the imprimatur of the reviewer can determine who sees a film and how a film is received, which ultimately impact its box office results.
Does the gender identity of the critic matter? How have women navigated their career paths in this male-dominated field? We will explore these questions and more in a panel discussion following the screening of What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael, featuring the New Yorker film critic who was known for biting reviews that frequently went against the opinions of her contemporaries.
HerStory programs are generously supported by the San Francisco Jewish Women's Fund, a program of the Jewish Community Federation and Endowment Fund.
HerStory: If She Can See It, She Can Be it
panel & conversation
Sunday, July 28 | 1:45 PM
Spark Arts | 4229 18th Street, San Francisco
This event is the first of a continuing series
Head on over to Spark Arts Gallery following the film, and join in the post-film conversation on feminism and film criticism. How do issues of equity and inclusion impact the field? Is the film industry leading the charge for change?
Karen Davis (panel facilitator) is Senior Film Programmer for the Mill Valley Film Festival and Professor Emerita of Cinematic Arts at California State University, Monterey Bay. She is a recipient of two Fulbright awards for creative scholarship activity in Paris at the French National Film Academy (FEMIS) and the recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts Grant for her work in film and digital media. She has taught at Vassar College, UC Santa Cruz and at the University of California at Davis. Her scholarly work has appeared in the journals "World Art", "Afterimage", and other publications.
Betsy Bozdech is the executive editor of ratings and reviews at Common Sense Media, where she has worked since 2006. Her online editorial career also includes stints at BabyCenter.com, Reel.com, Emode.com, AOL's Digital City, and Netflix. While at Common Sense, Betsy has spoken at international conferences, served as a film festival panelist and juror, interviewed filmmakers and actors, and much more. She has bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from Northwestern University and is a member of the Alliance of Women Film Journalists and a lifelong movie fan.
Meredith Brody, a lifelong cinephile, has worked in many aspects of the film business. While still in film school, she worked for Bertrand Tavernier and Pierre Rissient's advertising firm, as well as for Filmex, the first Los Angeles film festival. After graduating from film school at the University of Southern California, she served as a development executive for several independent film companies and for Columbia Pictures. Her award-winning writings on film and other subjects have appeared in the New York Times, the Village Voice, and LA Weekly. She currently writes for the websites Indiewire, RogerEbert.com, and EatDrinkFilms.
Ruthe Stein is the movie correspondent for the San Francisco Chronicle. She has covered the film industry for the Chronicle for 20 years, writing reviews, celebrity profiles and industry trend stories. She regularly covered the Sundance Film Festival, the Toronto International Film Festival and the Academy Awards. In 2009 she created the Mostly British Film Festival in San Francisco, a celebration of cinema from the UK and beyond. She has a bachelor's and master's degree from Northwestern University.
Faridah Gbadamosi is a freelance writer from New York City. Her favorite topics include pop culture, social media, intersectionalism, independent film and Korea dramas. If she had to make a list of movies to watch on her last day on Earth the list would include (but be not limited to) Black Orpheus, Miss Pettigrew Lives For a Day, and The Beauty Inside, which she feels sums her up pretty well.
We look forward to celebrating #SFJFF39 with you.
The 39th San Francisco Jewish Film Festival (SFJFF), July 18 - August 4, 2019, presented by the Jewish Film Institute (JFI), is here. SFJFF39 celebrates the full complexity and diversity of the Jewish experience through film and media from the world's most innovative makers.