Women’s innovation has galvanized the field of documentary filmmaking, turning an astute and unflinching eye on their subjects. This year, AAIFF08 will present different documentaries exploring politics and humanity: from artists working amid political unrest in Peru to Japanese kamikaze pilots coping with a complex past. These women filmmakers take their cameras abroad to confront political and social distress, specifically how politics play out in interconnected notions of masculinity, nationalism, and resistance.

Panelists:
Ann Kaneko (director, AGAINST THE GRAIN) has worked extensively as a filmmaker and artist both independently and in collaboration with other artists, filmmakers, labor unions, and museums on projects based in Los Angeles, Tokyo, Lima, and Kabul. Her other films include 100% HUMAN HAIR and OVERSTAY. AGAINST THE GRAIN was supported by a Fulbright Fellowship.

Risa Morimoto (director, WINGS OF DEFEAT), president of Edgewood Pictures, received her master’s degree in film and education from New York University in 1999 while serving as the associate director of the Asian/Pacific/American Studies Program and Institute. She produced the independent feature film THE LAMASTAS, and produced and directed several short films and documentaries including 9066 with Pat Morita. She currently freelances as a video journalist for the New York Post.

Mirjam van Veelen (director, MEGUMI) was originally educated as a visual artist, bringing an individual and independent vision to contemporary filmmaking with a style uniquely her own. She melds different genres in films such as THE RIVER OKKERVIL, AIDALULI, THE LEAP, and BEAUTIFUL MALI.

Moderator:
Anne del Castillo has worked in independent film and public television for 15 years. As director of development and business affairs for American Documentary, she manages fundraising, project development, and program licensing for the award-winning PBS documentary series P.O.V ("Point of View").

Read more: Documentary Subjects, Female Gaze: Director's Chat

Documentary Subjects, Female Gaze will take place at the Asia Society, 725 Park Ave @ 70th St.

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