Looking the other way

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat "Armed Housewife" is one of the short films showing as part of the "Lesbian Looks" film and video series taking place this month. The film festival will begin tonight and runs through next weekend.

"The films have to be independent," said Lenay Dunn, who served as a jury member last year and is now assistant director of the series. "WeÕre looking for films that are on the edge of what this audience will expect Ñ we want the experimental films and the romantic comedies."

The two feature films to be shown tonight in the Modern Languages Auditorium negotiate both of these genres. "After the Second Date," a film by Kathryn Beranich, explores issues of love, sex and dating, through the eyes of 14 New York City lesbians. This American film, made in 1997, garnered the 1998 Audience Choice award at the Cineffable Film Festival in Paris.

"Treyf" ("unkosher," in Yiddish), a documentary about two Jewish lesbians falling in love at a Passover seder, will follow BeranichÕs film. This film, by Alisa Lebow and Cynthia Mandinsky, takes a serious look at the role of the main characters Jewish upbringings and the impact this has on their lives.

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat "Treyf"

Next Friday, February 19, and the following Saturday, "Lesbian Looks" will present five short films each night, which are sure to tickle the fancy of the hard to please, as diversity is one of the driving forces behind this series. ItÕs a way of showcasing some talents and projects that might otherwise be overlooked.

"Under the circumstances, (thereÕs a lot of) corporate control of most films being released these days," said Associate Professor of Media Arts and "Lesbian Looks" director Beverly Seckinger. "This really narrows the point of view."

Of the 12 films in "Lesbian Looks," all are independent (which means none have a corporate distributor), one is from Germany, and several were made by Canadian filmmakers; which is to say that it would be all too easy to overemphasize the "lesbian" in "Lesbian Looks" and not consider the spectrum of intentions behind this series.

"Independent media," said Seckinger, "provides a variety of points of view, and this screening provides a variety of lesbian points of view. . . ItÕs for a lesbian audience, and any audience."

Wildcat File Photo Arizona Daily Wildcat "Chance"

This diversity is evident in the variety of groups both on campus and off that are sponsoring this event. "Lesbian Looks" is presented by the UA Committee on Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Studies, as well as the College of Fine Arts, Diversity Action Council, and the Media Arts, Anthropology, English, Comparative Cultural and Literary Studies, WomenÕs Studies and German Studies departments, along with the WomenÕs Resource Center, the University Teaching Center and Pan Left Productions.

Working as assistant director on this series holds a special importance to Dunn, as well, who will graduate this May with a degree in WomenÕs Studies. As one of the coordinating members of Pan-Left Productions, a local independent video collective, Dunn is an active "media maker" herself. She is personally aware of how difficult it can be, as a filmmaker, to get an audience for oneÕs work.

"I think independent media inherently carries a social message," said Dunn. "Series like ÔLesbian LooksÕ are important, so that we are not just making work for each other, but that we have a wider audience."

If you are interested in being part of the "wider audience" for "Lesbian Looks," screenings begin tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Modern Languages Auditorium and continue on the 19th and 21st. In addition, there will be a reception after the screening this evening at the Cushing Street Bar and Grill. More information on the series is available on the Internet at http://w3.arizona.edu/~lgbcom/lgbfilm.htm.