Rio’s Femina Festival: A Global Tribute to Female Storytellers

Now in its 14th year, the Femina Festival is currently showcasing female filmmakers’ talents at the Centro Cultural Banco do Brasil in Rio de Janeiro.

It runs until December 18, 2023, and features an impressive array of over 30 films. These films, both short and feature-length, come from 35 countries and 8 Brazilian states.

Notably, the filmmakers are a diverse group, including cis and transgender women, as well as non-binary individuals.

The festival kicked off with “Songs of Earth,” a documentary by Norwegian director Margreth Olin.

This film represents Norway in the 2024 Foreign Film Oscar category. The festival will re-screen it on December 16, 2023.

Attendees can access the entire schedule online, ensuring they don’t miss any of these remarkable films.

Paula Alves, who directs and produces Femina, announced two competition categories: national and international.

The national category’s jury includes actress Ana Flávia Cavalcanti and filmmakers Fernanda Teixeira and Manaíra Carneiro.

Professor Consuelo Lins, filmmaker Marina Meliande, and cinema curator Beth Sá Freire will serve as jurors for the international category.

“Claudia Priscilla’s ‘Eu deveria estar feliz’ and ‘Sua Majestade, o passinho’ by Carol Correia and Mannu Costa are Brazilian highlights at Femina Festival.”

International films like Daniela Zahlner’s “Upwards Tide” and Gabriele Stein’s “De onde nasce o Sol” also feature prominently.

Festival honors a significant female figure in Brazilian cinema

The closing ceremony, scheduled for December 18, includes a special tribute. Each year, the festival honors a significant female figure in Brazilian cinema.

This year, it celebrates filmmaker Laís Bodanzky. Her film “Como Nossos Pais,” released in 2017, will be showcased, highlighting its relevance to gender issues.

Additionally, the Femina festival organizes seminars over three days.

This year, the seminars are in partnership with Generis, a research group from the National School of Statistical Sciences of IBGE.

These seminars will cover gender research, workplace inequalities, and violence against women.

Alves highlights the importance of discussing women’s roles in academia and innovation.

Lastly, the International Feminine Cinema Festival, organized by the Institute of Feminine Culture and Citizenship, aims to elevate women’s roles in cinema and culture.

Since 2006, it has been a trailblazer in gender issues, including showcasing transgender and non-binary filmmakers.