F-SIDES, the first Romanian film club dedicated entirely to films made by women and to female representation in cinema, launches today. Taking place twice a month, for 5 months, in several summer gardens in Bucharest, the program kicks off tonight, July 13, 2020, at Spatiul M60, at 9pm.

The film club has been created out of the need to start a conversation about women’s cinema. According to an analysis conducted by F-SIDES, 17.5% of the films released in Romanian cinemas in 2019 were directed or co-directed by women. In the last 10 years, 19% of Romanian productions have been directed or co-directed by women.

What do these numbers actually mean, who are these contemporary female directors, but also those coming from past generations and why are they not brought to the public’s attention as often as the male directors? Here are just a few of the topics worth discussing more. In addition to the screenings, the F-SIDES film club will have a monthly theme, which will be debated at each screening among special guests, but also with the audience.

The first edition leads with a manifesto dedicated to the concept of female gaze; in other words, the perspective of the female viewer. It’s a term introduced by feminist film theory and brought to the public’s attention by film theorist Laura Mulvey. It describes the ability of female filmmakers or characters to regain their autonomy and go beyond the status of a simple object of desire, as they were seen in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

Moreover, besides screening reference films and initiating a dialogue between guests and the audience at the events that will take place outdoors, F-SIDES is looking to continue the conversation online, on the F-SIDES Facebook group, where you can find out new information on women’s cinema, as well as by subscribing to their monthly newsletter.

F-SIDES opens with the screening of The Holy Girl / La niña santa (directed by Lucrecia Martel), a complex film about the dilemmas of a mother and a daughter, gender socialization and girls’ education. According to Ioana Diaconu, founder of F-SIDES, “Films seek to bring the female perspective into the spotlight as to be a starting point for debating topics such as sorority, freedom of one’s own body, girls’ education, violence against women, exploring sexuality, motherhood or intergenerational communication.”

Stay up to date with all the news by visiting the F-SIDES website or following their Facebook page. More details about the tonight screening can be found here.

Melissa Antonescu

Writer, photographer and videographer. For Films in Frame she writes news about the latest happenings in the film world and brings to the readers' attention the productions that can be seen at the cinema. When she's not writing articles, she's photographing people in a small studio or searching for new cake recipes.