ITVS’s Women and Girls Lead Initiative and Eileen Fisher, Inc. Announce the Launch of #SHEDOCS, an Online Film Fest in Celebration of Women’s History Month
(San Francisco, CA) —February 25, 2013 — Independent Television Service (ITVS)’s Women and Girls Lead campaign and EILEEN FISHER, INC. announced the launch of #SheDocs today, an online film festival showcasing 10 documentaries highlighting extraordinary women and their accomplishments in celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month. Running March 1 to 31, the festival presents a collection of films by prominent independent filmmakers, with a special focus on women who are working to transform their lives, their communities, and the world. All 10 films will be made available free online on the Women and Girls Lead website. The films will be supported by events both online and in communities across the country to inspire dialogue and deeper connection with the films.
“ITVS is thrilled to be working with EILEEN FISHER, INC. as the lead sponsor of Women and Girls Lead's #SheDocs online film festival,” said Sally Jo Fifer, president and CEO of ITVS. “Through her own good work in inspiring and empowering women, Eileen Fisher is connecting the dots between mentorship, education, and change.”
As a Women and Girls Lead partner, EILEEN FISHER, INC. will co-present Community Cinema screenings of Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines in seven cities in March (Chicago, Nashville, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington D.C.), bringing audiences together to watch and discuss character-driven films on critical issues.
“The Women and Girls Lead campaign is one that we will believe will inspire and activate audiences to learn about the plight of women around the world," said Fisher. “We are proud to sponsor #SheDocs to celebrate women's contributions to society and to engage in conversations about what is possible when women and girls are center stage.”
The 10 films featured in the #SheDocs online film festival were selected as extraordinary examples of leadership exemplified by women across the U.S and abroad from the Women and Girls Lead collection of 50 films. Among the featured selections are MAKERS: Women Who Make America ( Dyllan McGee), featuring more than 1000 interviews about unforgettable women who have shaped America; Chahinaz: What Rights for Women? (Samia Chala and Patrice Barrat) follows Chahinaz, a 20-year-old Algerian student who embarks on a voyage of self-discovery as she investigates what life is like for women in other Muslim countries and around the world; Strong! (Julie Wyman) features weightlifter Cheryl Haworth's struggles to defend her champion status as her lifetime weightlifting career inches towards its inevitable end; When I Rise (Mat Hames, James Moll, and Michael Rosen) chronicles the life of Barbara Smith Conrad, a gifted University of Texas music student who finds herself at the epicenter of racial controversy, struggling against the odds and ultimately ascending to the heights of international opera; and Women, War & Peace (Abigail Disney, Gini Reticker, and Pamela Hogan), a five-part PBS mini-series, examines the roles of women in peace and conflict.
The #SheDocs film festival will be supported through online and offline events. In addition to the 10 films streaming online, #SheDocs invites viewers to watch and discuss films together online via a number of scheduled OVEE Online Social Screenings throughout March. MAKERS: Women Who Make America kicks off the first screening March 1, 11AM PT/2PM ET (bit.ly/MakersScreening), featuring MAKER Barbara Smith, author, feminist scholar, and community activist. Offline events include sneak preview screenings of Wonder Women! The Untold Story of American Superheroines (Kristy Guevara-Flanagan ) in 100 cities nationwide in March. Wonder Women! looks at how popular representations of powerful women often reflect society’s anxieties about women’s liberation. Lastly, on March 8, International Women’s Day, viewers will have a chance to host a Half the Sky Salon Screening of their own through a free toolkit, which includes a DVD with a 40-minute version of the film and an organizer’s guide. More information can be found at bit.ly/IWDScreening
ABOUT EILEEN FISHER, INC.
Eileen Fisher is an American designer known for blending trend and timelessness. In 1984, motivated by her own wardrobe needs and a desire to put design ahead of fashion, she created a new breed of clothing that acts as a go-to system for modern women. Almost three decades later, Fisher continues to create clothing that marries simple, versatile lines with the beauty and quality of fabrics. We value color and texture over pattern. We build on core fabrics and yarns season after season, inviting customers to evolve their wardrobe, connecting the new with the old. For more information, please visit eileenfisher.com
WOMEN AND GIRLS LEAD
Women and Girls Lead is a multiyear public media initiative designed to focus, educate, and connect citizens worldwide in support of the issues facing women and girls. Combining independent documentary film, television, new media, and global outreach partnerships, Women and Girls Lead amplifies the voices of women and girls acting as leaders, expands understanding of gender equity, and engages an international network of citizens and organizations in acting locally and reaching out globally. By building a pipeline of some 50 public television documentaries and integrating content from partners across radio, commercial television, and beyond, Women and Girls Lead offers another model for using public media to serve its mission in the twenty-first century, connecting key stakeholders to sustain productive dialogue and participation on the most critical issues facing local communities, the nation, and the world.
Women and Girls Lead is spearheaded by ITVS, an organization founded by Congress in 1988 and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private corporation funded by the American people. Women and Girls Lead receives generous support through ITVS's Global Perspectives Project from Ford Foundation, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and Wyncote Foundation. For more information please visit womenandgirlslead.org
About ITVS
Independent Television Service funds, presents, and promotes award-winning documentaries and dramas on public television, innovative new media projects on the Web, and the Emmy® Award-winning weekly series, Independent Lens on Monday nights at 10 p.m. on PBS. Mandated by Congress in 1988 and funded by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, ITVS has brought more than 1,000 independently produced programs to American audiences to date. For more information about ITVS, visit itvs.org