BRATTLEBORO — It's not just about the movies.
Special events and speakers will enhance the understanding of the issues tackled in the films that will be shown at the Women's Film Festival (WFF).
Following are some highlights of discussions and collaborations that will let the audience interact with filmmakers, experts, and others associated with the festival's films and the themes they tackle.
Other special events include creative collaborations with the Windham World Affairs Council, the School for International Training Graduate Institute (SIT), Union Institute & University, Brattleboro Union High School, the New England Youth Theatre, and other groups.
Opening reception and art show
The festival's opening reception and much-anticipated presentation of film preview loops will take place during Brattleboro's monthly Gallery Walk, Friday, March 2, from 5 to 8 p.m. in the lobby of the Hooker-Dunham building at 139 Main St. (enter at street level through the alley and glass doors).
An art exhibit, the 2012 Women's Show, will open at the adjacent Dianich Gallery at 5:30 p.m.
Produced in conjunction with the Women's Film Festival, the show includes work by Daria Dorosh, who is featured in WFF film !WAR Women's Art Revolution.
Other artists in the show include Simi Berman, Marguerite Fields, Helen Hawes, Helen O'Donnell, Cathy Osman, Michele Ratté, and Nancy Storrow.
Gallery owner Catherine Dianich Gruver has pledged portion of the proceeds from the show to the Women's Freedom Center.
Carol Channing film discussion
The festival's opening night film, Carol Channing: Larger Than Life, will be introduced by New England Youth Theatre founding member Jerry Stockman, a lighting director and designer who used to work with Carol Channing.
The film begins at 6:30 p.m. at the Latchis Theatre.
Girls on the Run founder to present 'Miss Representation'
The Saturday, March 10, screening of Miss Representation, described by WFF volunteers as “a new, highly entertaining, hard-hitting documentary spurring a national movement addressing why women's political and economic advances seem to be hitting a brick wall with the number of women in Congress at a 30-year low,” will be introduced by someone who tries to give girls the tools to resist the media messages that the film decries.
Introducing Miss Representation will be Molly Barker, founder of Girls on the Run, a fast-growing self-empowerment program for girls with chapters nationwide.
Barker will introduce the film and participate in a post-film discussion at the Latchis main theater.
This film festival event is co-sponsored by Girls on the Run Vermont as well as the Brattleboro Community Justice Center, All Souls Church Unitarian Universalist, and other local groups and educational institutions.
A special screening of the film for area high school classes takes place at 9:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 15.
'Living Downstream' filmmaker to speak
Another noteworthy film industry visitor is Canadian producer and director Chanda Chevannes, who will present, screen, and discuss her film Living Downstream.
The feature-length documentary follows ecologist and cancer survivor Sandra Steingraber, Ph.D. as she travels across North America to break the silence about cancer and its environmental links.
Chavannes will screen the film on Sunday, March 11 at 4 p.m. at the New England Youth Theatre.
SIT professor to discuss subject of film
Discussing Aung San Suu Kyi: Woman of No Fear - described by festival volunteers as “a revealing and dramatic documentary on [the] courageous human rights activist and leader” - will be School for International Training (SIT) Professor Aqeel Tirmizi, a Pakistan native who will share his social justice leadership work and experiences in South Asia and relate it to the struggles of Aung San Su Kyi, Burma's pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.
The film and discussion take place Sunday, March 11, at 2 p.m. at the New England Youth Theatre.
Grannis to speak, lead discussion of 'The Carrier'
West Townshend resident Susanna Grannis, author of a new book about children and AIDS, Hope Amidst Despair: HIV/AIDS-Affected Children in Sub-Saharan Africa, will speak and lead an audience discussion on The Carrier, a documentary that tells the story of one woman's struggle to protect her child.
The film and discussion takes place at noon on Saturday, March 10 at the Latchis Theatre.
Grannis also founded the Brattleboro-based charity Children Affected By HIV/AIDS.
'As If I Am Not There' discussion
Psychologist Judy Greenberg will lead a discussion after the 6:30 p.m. showing of As If I Am Not There, a disturbing drama about rape and war, on Sunday, March 11.
The film screens at the New England Youth Theatre.
'TutuMuch' family showing
A special family showing of TutuMuch about hopefuls trying out for a prestigious ballet school, will take place Sunday, March 18 at 4 p.m. at the New England Youth Theatre.
Minister leads 'Raw Faith' discussion
The Sunday, March 18 screening of Raw Faith, a documentary about a minister contemplating retirement, will be followed by a question-and-answer session with host Barbro Hansson, the minister of All Souls Church Unitarian Universalist in West Brattleboro.
The show begins at noon at the New England Youth Theatre.
Jazz film sneak preview and Sheila Jordan concert
The WFF will present a one-time, sneak-preview screening of a new award-winning documentary about the unknown history of women jazz musicians, from the 1930s to present.
The film will coincide with a concert by 2011 National Endowment for the Arts Jazz Master Award winner Sheila Jordan.
Both events take place Saturday, March 24.
The film's distributor has permitted the screening ahead of its East Coast premiere on the condition that the festival not divulge the film's title.
According to WFF volunteers, the film that will be shown will shares the stories, struggles, and music of all-women groups like the Parisian Redheads and the International Sweethearts of Rhythm.
The sneak preview will screen at 4 p.m. at the Latchis Theater.
WFF passes may be used for the sneak preview of the film. Those who present a Sheila Jordan concert ticket will get $1 off their tickets at the door.
At 8 p.m., Jordan will perform at the Vermont Jazz Center on Cotton Mill Hill. Assisting in the artistic effort is Jordan's longtime collaborator and legendary jazz pianist Steve Kuhn.
Hailed by many as the queen of bebop, Jordan “exemplifies the vocal expression of jazz in all its forms,” write WFF volunteers Arlene Distler and Merry Elder.
'Best in Fest'
The public is invited to a closing reception and screening of the 2012 audience-chosen ”Best in Fest” on Sunday, March 25, starting 5:30 p.m., at the New England Youth Theatre.
The screening will begin at 6:30 p.m.