Girls on film

The Fem Film Festival returns to Bangkok on Friday with a selection of movies that explore the struggles and achievements of women. Following a successful inaugural run last year, the festival is back and will be held at the Bangkok Screening Room in time for International Women’s Day this Sunday.

Five films have been selected for screening this year.

Directed by Mina Shum, Meditation Park sees a devoted mother and wife in her 60s reassessing her life after finding another woman’s underwear in her husband’s laundry. The film is presented by the Embassy of Canada in Thailand.

See Madonna and Rosanna Arquette in the 1985 comedy drama

Desperately Seeking Susan, in which two women of different lifestyles find their path entangled as a result of a tabloid’s personal columns. It is one of Madonna’s early screen roles.

Presented by the Embassy of Ireland, Shooting The Mafia by Kim Longinotto follows Italian photographer Letizia Battaglia and her career in documenting the crimes of the mafia. The documentary combines archival footage, Italian films, and Battaglia’s own black-and-white photographs.

Daisies from Czechoslovakia was released in 1966 and has become a classic of feminist cinema. It portrays two teenage girls in their quest to rebel against social convention. The film is an artistic liberation that is at times surreal and avant garde, and unafraid to be crazy.

Yellow Is Forbidden by Pietra Brettkelly depicts the life of China’s haute couture designer Guo Pei who made Rihanna’s viral omelette dress for the 2015 Met Gala. See how she is rising in the international scene. The film is presented by the New Zealand embassy. There will be a Q&A with the director following the 3.30pm session on March 8.

All films have Thai subtitles. Tickets are 300 baht for adults, 250 baht for students, and 240 baht for members of the Bangkok Screening Room.

For information and screening timetable, visit bkksr.com/fff2020.