By an amazing blessing from the heavens, I was transported to the magical Flying Broom International Women’s Film Festival in Ankara, Turkey! I was invited from May 6-10 to show THE LINE and conduct a workshop about Body Politics.

Flying Broom kicked off its 13th year with an elaborately staged feminist (?) version of Macbeth. Much of this was lost on me, but I was transfixed by the smoke, and the actresses moving around the stage and the unapologetically political opening speech. The festival creator decried the stereotype of “woman as evil” in society. The festival coordinators Bilge Taş and Irina Inostroza were fantastic. Some tweets collected from the event:

Flying Broom opened w/famous actors playing Macbeth and three witches subverting the plot. Live drums. Capes. Brooms. #weird

Director of Flying Broom gave speech about FGM, sexuality rights, political oppression, sexism, & freedom. Not your usual thank u blah blah

Abortion is legal, available and a non-political issue in Turkey *shh we don’t want to jinx it. Its just there, available & not an issue

Flying Broom gourmet Buffet: cheese puffs, cucumbers, yogurt/dill, lamb meatballs, chick pea salad, bread. #heaven

The theme of the festival was “Bad Women in Cinema” with a focus on “Evil”. The filmmakers would continue to ponder the theme throughout the festival. Were they talking about the evils inflicted on women in the name of tradition, culture, patriarchy and religion? Sure seemed that way from the films that were selected. Or did they mean, that we women were evil, according to society? And whose society? I prefer to think of us as “bad-ass” not “bad” women in cinema, riding broom sticks and kicking up our heels.

These bad-ass women included German, Swiss, Dutch and Turkish film directors, academics, cultural presenters and activists, including the wonderful @ClinicEscort who took amazing pictures. We spent the days watching films, drinking beers and wine, discussing international feminism, the German film system v. the American system, dating Turkish men when you’re a feminist Turkish woman, and what films scandalized the Turkish right-wing papers, mainly Baise-Moi.  To make sweeping generalizations: Turkish feminists are incredibly brave and German women are fierce and assertive. A great crowd.

My screening was advertised as “Body Politics” and the translation of the title was “One-night Stand”. We had a full house with 90 minutes of questions, answers, and sometimes 4-part statements. The room was filled with secular men an women, and Muge was my fearless, concise, clear, and skilled translator. It was exhilarating to share the film with such a passionate audience, to out myself as a Jew, a slut, a rape survivor, all of it. In all, during the film, the audience was quiet, no laughter, really, but an audible murmur went through the crowd here, especially when he said: “I’m not trying to put the blame on you, don’t misunderstand me.”

Some questions from the audience:

How do you think about women in the East (Turkey, Jerusalem) who are considered “precious”, so they are covered, but also oppressed, versus women in the West (USA, Europe) considered “free”, so they are liberated, but treated as commodities?

Do you have good sex w/your husband?

How do you think pornography factors into “rape culture”?

Can you describe the physical repercussions of the assault?

That last question made people go nuts. I took it at face value that the man who asked the question was curious about the physicality of what happened. Fair enough. I answered. A woman lept to her feet arguing that he was a “wanker” for asking (poor Muge had to translate the term “wanker”). I countered that the movie is clear and detailed, and I’ll accept it as an innocent question. Turns out, 1. he’s a jerk, the women know him from other events 2. by asking me that question, in that room, in front of the group, he was being pornographic and purposely offensive.

Fascinating, because his question in that context seemed alright, but in my language I would have been more skilled at sniffing out who/why/how that person was asking. Made me wonder if my film is pornographic? I detail sex acts, I film girls at Spring Break? If Baise-Moi had the Turkish press up in arms, why was mine ok?

The Turkish audience was not shy!  They love to talk, debate and argue, felt right at home. I was chided in ways for being too inclusive in the way I answered questions. I try to acknowledge people’s biases around rape and help them along, while a member of the radical feminist organization would have preferred if we had excluded men from the conversation. Throughout the dialogue, I was clear in any discussion of “culture” or “tradition” as a means to excuse behavior, that no matter how violent, sexist, traditional and/or misogynist the culture you come from, each person does make a choice to rape or not to rape, to listen or not to listen, to violate or to respect. Sexual violation is incredibly complex and very simple.  Clearly something we could have kept discussing.

Other amazing films presented:

The Day I Became A Woman, Marzieh Makhmalbaf, (2000) Iran – loved this, beautiful, haunting story of three Iranian women at different stages of their lives. Incredibly moving, with incredible images.

Te doy Mis Oyos, or Take My Eyes, Iciar Bollain, (2003) Spain – I’m going to have to agree with Manohla Dargis here. A sometimes chilling film about a domestic violence set in Spain, but muddled by over-acting and  irresponsible writing. Because we know so little about the protagonist, her psycho-sexual dynamic w/her abuser doesn’t make sense, and confirms the myth that “she likes it”. Considering this story from Spain, possibly did more harm than good.

The Jungle Radio, Susanne Jaeger, (2009) Germany- In heart of rural Nicaragua, deep in the jungle, Yamileth Chavarria has founded a citizens’ radio station with a unique mission: the fight against the all-prevalent domestic violence.  The endemic levels of violence, corruption and sexism women in the village faced was overwhelming, makes our online debates about feminisms seem pretty luxurious. I loved the film and the incredible protagonist, Yamileth Chavarria – everyone should know about her work. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.

Close to You, Almut Getto, (2008) Germany – quirky, polished and sophisticated comedy and love story between dysfunctional German man and blind cello player, featuring a tortoise. It was a breathe of fresh air among all of our heavy, intense films. Almut’s first feature Do Fish Do It apparently had more sex and feminist themes, and I’d very much like to see it. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.

Turkish Films:
Tulay German: Year of Fire and Cinders, (2010) Turkey, Didem Pekun & Baris Dogrusoz- personal documentary about the singer Tulay German and the director. Tülay German was born in 1935 to a rather privileged family. Her choice of career and a relationship with a leftist contradicted the wishes of her parents and their relationship suffered infinitely as a consequence. Taken from the singer’s autobiography: ‘The Black Box of The Plane Which Never Crashed’. Beautiful music – and fantastic archival footage. *present at festival, official drinking partner.

Men on the Bridge, Azli Olge (2009) Turkey -tells the story about the young generation who lives in the suburbs of Istanbul and come to the center of the city, the Bosphorus Bridge, to make a living. The film is a hybrid documentary/narrative, based on real people and characters, but scripted and acted by non-actors. Great film about class, politics, poverty, assimilation, a real window into the lives of people in Istanbul.

Films I didn’t see by fabulous women I had drinks with:

Winter Silence, Sonja Wyss (2009) Holland -experimental narrative film about a widow and her four daughters set in a snowy Swiss landscape. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.

Shortcut to Justice, Sybille Fezer & Daniel Burkholz (2009) Germany – women in rural India take justice into their own hands and start their own courts to serve the community, especially the women. Sybille is a first-time filmmaker taking her skills and experience working for women’s justice and health  at various NGOs and translating into film. *present at festival, official drinking and exploring partner.