NSU to host Women’s History Month Film Festival

Northeastern State University is set to host its third annual Womens History Month Film Festival throughout March.

The festival is a joint effort between the Center for Womens Studies, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Center for Tribal Studies and the Department of History.

In this year's festival we have tried to highlight a variety of women from different backgrounds, including native, Muslim, and black women, said Dr. Suzanne Farmer, director of the Center for Womens Studies. We hope for those who attend the film festival that they will have a greater appreciation for the global struggles and challenges that women continue to face, but also how these same trials are magnified for those who are also native, of color, or transgender.

While women have often been excluded from the historical narrative, Farmer said Womens History Month provides an opportunity to focus on the issues that impact women.

My hope is that our Womens History Month can shed new light and understanding on a number of topics, and hopefully, it will spark an interest that will lead to a desire to learn more, she said.

This years festival will include the following films:

• Club Native will be shown at 6 p.m. March 2 in Seminary Hall 110. This film examines native identity by following four women. The Director of the NSU Center for Tribal Studies will lead a discussion following the film.
• Persepolis will be shown at 6 p.m. March 9 in Seminary Hall 110. This film is based on the autobiographical graphic novel that follows a girl as she grows up against the Islamic Revolution. A discussion will follow the film.
• Lemonade will be shown at 7 p.m. March 23 in the Ballroom Lounge. Lemonade is Beyonc's groundbreaking visual album highlighting black feminism and black culture that premiered last year on HBO. A discussion on feminism, and more specifically black feminism will be led by Farmer and Dr. T. Dionne Bailey, Assistant Professor of History at University of North Carolina, Pembroke, who is an expert on black feminism.
• Gender Revolution will be shown at 6 p.m. March 30 in Seminary Hall 110. This documentary premiered last month on the National Geographic, coinciding with the first issue of National Geographic to include a transgender person on the cover. Following the film there will be a discussion focused on the complex nature of gender and the social constructs attached to it.

For more information on the Womens History Month Film Festival, contact Farmer at farmer07@nsuok.edu.