• Conference Program  & Speakers on April 6 and 7 (morning)
• Film Program on April 6 and 7 (evening)

This screening program is an attempt to collect and present a series of films about sexuality, whether expressions of sexuality in vernacular, or concomitant practices. The films are largely from Lebanon and will feature 3 films from each of the two acclaimed filmmakers whose films are featured in the program, both Danielle Arbid and Akram Zaatari. On the first night, April 6, both The Fifth Pound by Ahmad Khaled from Egypt and Shameless Transmission of Desired Transformation per Day by Mahmoud Hojeij from Lebanon tackle instances of sexual encounters in public spaces, yet in an aesthetically different manner. In The Fifth Pound, a couple finds relative anonymity on an empty bus in Cairo, while in Shameless Transmission, Hojeij’s female characters are overexposed and the revelation of their intimate narratives, many of which are based on real testimonies, lie in stark contrast to the blank faces screened. Roy Samaha’s film Untitled for Several Reasons cannot be easily categorized since it is a very special treatment of the image and flux. Visions flicker by so fast from various film and media sources that one can only discern two eroticized stills in movement, almost as another form of anonymity or censorship. Danielle Arbid’s feature film In the Battlefields explores the sexual journeys and coming of age of two young women, amid a backdrop of war and lawlessness. Here the sense of time is much slower and hushed, with particular attention to light, wisps of hair, and whispered secrets.

The second day, April 7, will be devoted to women and men’s narratives (Amanda Abou Abdallah’s Empty Talk, Danielle Arbid’s This Smell of Sex), the art of seduction and eroticism (Ninar Esber’s A Mon Seul Desir, Nisreen Khodr & Ghassan Salhab’s Of Seduction), as well as stories that reveal a disturbing narrative of hyper-masculinity (Akram Zaatari’s Crazy of You). Amanda Abou Abdallah creates various exaggeratedly humorous prototypes of women in Empty Talk who tell their story, describing their lives and their relationship with their bodies. Arbid’s This Smell of Sex is also of a frank and candid nature, but in such explicit language that is foregrounded with very few images, and yet it pushes the boundaries of sexual expression; the only inhibitions present in the scarcity of visuals. Both Nesrine Khodr and Ghassan Salhab’s Of Seduction and Ninar Esber’s A Mon Seul Desir are simultaneously seductive pieces persuading the viewer with sensuality and about seduction, yet filmed in a divergent manner. Of Seduction includes accounts by real characters, with a few abstract intermissions, while A Mon Seul Desir avoids language and sound by depicting hauntingly evocative postures and intimate acts so subtle that they can be interpreted as performance vignettes. And the final screening session includes a very particular look at intricately woven love stories and homosexuality. Infatuation and desire among two young men is palpable in both Akram Zaatari’s Red Chewing Gum and Mazen Khaled’s My Queer Samsara, each of which are filmed with a certain gaze and attention to darkness and light, respectively. How I Love You investigates real accounts of sexual relationships among men in an environment that is not very tolerant and Cadillac Blues is a fictional piece about a man who lives a double life in a violent society. The final film is a very special one, Un Homme Perdu, which was only screened once in Lebanon because of sexual content, and it traces the travels of two men, one a French photographer, and the second, a Lebanese unknown who are searching for something and running away, respectively, often finding momentary refuge in women’s bodies.

Following this introduction of Nasawiya, Rania Ignatios, a member of the collective, presented the ongoing training program “Ghayri 3adtik Bitzeed Sa3adtik.” Since last April, members of Nasawiya have been traveling the country with a training module that presents issues such as the relationship between biological sex and gender from a feminist perspective. The training demonstrates how this relationship effects all women, who also experience discrimination differently and according to sect, class, and race. Nasawiya stressed that one of the goals of Tuesday’s conference was to begin collaborating with other interested groups for presentations of “Ghayri 3adtik Bitzeed Sa3adtik” in their centers and other locations.

Representatives of NGOs who work on issues related to women’s rights and human rights were in attendance at the conference. Several journalists were also in attendance. The conference ended with a prolonged Q&A session between Nasawiyya members and audience members, which was followed by a cocktail party in the lobby of Masrah al Madina.

نظمت النسوية يوم الثلاثاء في السابع من الشهر الجاري مؤتمر “غيري عادتِك بتزيد سعادتِك/ أدوات نسوية للتغيير” في مسرح المدينة في شارع الحمرا – بيروت. وافتتح المؤتمر بعرض تعريفي عن المجموعة النسوية التي انطلقت مطلع السنة الحالية، وتعمل على مجموعة قضايا تتعلق بوضع المرأة من وجهة نظر نسوية مختلفة عن الخطاب التقليدي لحقوق المرأة.

وتبع العرض، عرض آخر قدمته “رانيا اغناطيوس” عن برنامج “غيري عادتِك بتزيد سعادتِك” التدريبي الذي أطلقته “المجموعة النسوية” في شهر نيسان من العام الحالي. ويتضمن البرنامج أفكارا جديدة ومختلفة من وجهة نظر نسوية عن الجندر/ النوع الاجتماعي والجنس البيولوجي وعلاقتهما ببعضهما، وتأثيراتهما على وضع المرأة في لبنان بالتقاطع مع العوامل العنصرية والعرقية والطائفية والطبقية الأخرى. وأكدت “المجموعة النسوية” أن أحد أهداف اللقاء، تأمين التعاون مع الجمعيات الحاضرة لتقديم ورش عمل “غيري عادتِك بتزيد سعادِك” في المراكز والنوادي التابعة لهم.

وحضر المؤتمر حشد من ممثلي وممثلات الجمعيات الأهلية والمهتمة بقضايا المرأة والب يئة وحقوق الانسان بالمطلق، بالاضافة الى عدد من أهل الصحافة. واختتم المؤتمر بنقاش عن النسوية والبرنامج بين المنظمات والحضور، تبعه حفل كوكتيل.

The conference aims at introducing the audience to the objectives of our training program and how we can cooperate on it. Nasawiya had launched this training program back in April 2010 and it includes new ideas and methodology on how to make change from a feminist perspective. It discusses differences between gender and sex, feminism and women’s rights, power dynamics, intersectionality of issues, etc… We would love to have you join our conference and more so, cooperate after it to organize sessions with your organizations and stakeholders.

Date: Tuesday – 7th of September 2010

Time: 2 pm to 5 pm

Location: Beirut – Hamra – Al Madina Theater

Please confirm attendance at maya.elhelou@gmail.com or call 03 – 874 147 / 70- 800 258

We’ve designed a special website for this landmark event, so please visit it to learn more!

Feminism is today undergoing a worldwide re-assessment: What have been its achievements? Where has it failed? Has it remained necessary to the development of society, or has it outlived its usefulness?

Join us at AUB for the talks! More information coming soon.

هذه الصفحة غير متوفرة باللغة العربية