Belcourt Theatre announces Strong Leads, an after-school film seminar for high school girls
By Cindy Wall, Communications and Marketing Director, Belcourt Theatre –
The Belcourt Theatre announces Strong Leads: A Film Seminar for High School Girls, a six-week after-school seminar spotlighting films about or made by women. The seminar starts Tuesday, Sept. 20 and continues every Tuesday through Oct. 25, 3:30-6:30 p.m. A presentation of the Belcourt’s Education and Engagement Program with support from the Stackpole-Hall Foundation Youth Advisory Board, Strong Leads will explore gender representation in cinema, in the Hollywood establishment, and in film discourse. The seminar will feature six films from a variety of genres and cultures, followed with an informal discussion facilitated by the Belcourt’s education and engagement director Allison Inman and film student, photographer and filmmaker Daisy Stackpole. The seminar will be held in the Belcourt’s Manzler/Webb Screening Room.
Participation in Strong Leads is by application only and space is limited. There is no cost to participants. The seminar is designed for students only and is meant to be taken in its entirety (no a la carte sessions). Application deadline is Wednesday, Sept. 7. Participants will be notified on Friday, Sept. 9. To apply, visit belcourt.org/strongleads.
“As a woman and an artist, I find it’s invaluable to provide young girls a safe space where they feel comfortable as they are, with no pressure to conform to societal expectations, and to create a forum for them to discuss their thoughts and feelings,” said Stackpole. “I am so excited to help inaugurate a seminar that will encourage girls to be passionate, outspoken, and confident and to do so through positive role models and empowerment.”
“Part of teaching visual literacy is acknowledging that representation on screen makes a profound difference in how we see the world. In family films alone, male characters outnumber female characters three to one. That sends a message that women and girls are somehow minor characters in life itself,” said Inman. “I want to show films featuring complex, independent, fully formed female characters, ones not relegated to the love interest, sex object, or ‘token’ role. And I want to spotlight women directors forging a path in a male-dominated industry. I think this will be the first of many seminars of its kind and am honored to have support from the Stackpole-Hall Foundation to get us started.”
Films in the Strong Leads seminar are:
- Tue, Sept. 20: PRINCESS MONONOKE (Dir. Hayao Miyazaki, Japan, 1997, 134 min, PG-13)
- Tue, Sept. 27: A GIRL WALKS HOME ALONE AT NIGHT (Dir. Ana Lily Amirpour, USA, 2014, 101 min, NR)
- Tue, Oct. 4: GIRLHOOD (Dir. Celine Sciamma, France, 2014, 113 min, NR)
- Tue, Oct. 11: MOSQUITA Y MARI (Dir. Aurora Guerrero, USA, 2014, 86 min, NR)
- Tue, Oct. 18: WE ARE THE BEST! (Dir. Lukas Moodysson, Sweden, 2013, 102 min, NR)
- Tue, Oct. 25: DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN (Dir. Susan Seidelman, USA, 1985, 104 min, PG-13)
About the Belcourt Theatre
The newly renovated Belcourt Theatre is Nashville’s nonprofit film center, a cultural institution that engages, enriches and educates audiences through innovative film programming in our theatre, our community, and beyond. Housed in Nashville’s only neighborhood theatre, the Belcourt presents the best of independent, documentary, world, and repertory cinema 365 days a year, while promoting visual literacy and providing opportunities for people of all ages to experience the power of film. First opened in 1925 as a silent movie house, the theatre was home to the Grand Ole Opry from 1934-35. The theatre reopened as a nonprofit art house in 1999. In July 2016, the Belcourt opened after a seven-month renovation, the first major work on the theatre in 50 years. The Belcourt Theatre is funded in part by the Metropolitan Nashville Arts Commission and the Tennessee Arts Commission, and is grateful for their support of our nonprofit mission.
