Honoring International Women’s Day, IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA, in cooperation with the Creative affirmative organization Parnas, organized a movie night Seize the Film for Women’s Day. The event took place on March 10, 2023. at 5 p.m. for members, associates, colleagues, and friends with and without disabilities on the premises of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA. Within the movie night Seize the Film for Women’s Day, the movies were shown first, and then the participants talked about them and the topics they triggered.
During the film evening, a total of six films from last year’s Seize the Film Festival were shown. All the films shown are descriptively subtitled in the Serbian language and/or audio described or dubbed into the Serbian language.
The first movie, Technology for Talking, shows communication aids and informs us why some people talk with the help of assistive technology. The second one, a Canadian documentary, Blue Lemons: Marie’s Gift, describes the success of an artist and a designer with Dawn Syndrome and the importance of support from her family, the community, and colleagues while facing the challenges of everyday life. The third one, the Brazilian movie We will be Heard, presents a community of deaf women talking about their struggles in the world of hearing people and the feminist movement. The fourth movie, Just in Case, talks about the invisibility of the problems and conditions a woman with bipolar disorder faces. The fifth, an American documentary, Romantic Chorus Jade, shows the unique experience, sexual temptations, and challenges of her disability as a comic and self-proclaimed cyborg. The last one, Miss Ronaldo, presents a Syrian girl who likes to play football but a bomb exploded during a match, killed her teammates, and she lost her leg. She will play again and raise the cup as Ronaldo.
After the projection, participants shared their impressions, the earlier experience triggered by the movies, dilemmas about particular topics, issues, and ideas about activities that would change the reality of women with disabilities in a relaxed atmosphere. Here are some of the heard voices:
Brazilian film made the greatest impact since it problematizes the view that men with sensory disabilities are not violent.
Women do not support each other, and feminism is controversial.
Accessible activities for deaf persons in Novi Sad are scarce.
Movies open new horizons and encourage thinking.
Sharing and documenting women’s experiences is significant.
It is necessary to educate the general population on how to treat people with different types of disabilities.
It is important that children learn to respect diversity from an early age.
Members and friends of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA and KAO Parnas participated in the movie night Seize the Film for Women’s Day: Tatjana Stojsic Petkovic, a psychologist from IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA and a member of the jury of Seize the Film Festival; Sandra Divljan, a student of The Art Academy; Suzana Belos, an office worker of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA; Katarina Agbaba, LGBT and feminist activist and a member of the association of the deaf; Suzana Ristanic, a member of the Novi Sad association of blind and visually impaired; Veronika Mitro, a programme manager of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA and an editor of The Disability Portal; Ivana Rendulic, a member of the Novi Sad association of blind and Muscular Dystrophy Association that watches the Seize the Film Festival on a regular basis; Jovana Gojkovic, a student and a vice president of the organization of young deaf people of Serbia (an instance that is part of the Executive Board of UNICEF); Gala Kastratovic, a sociology student on an internship in IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA; Nina Miskov, a fellow citizen interested in activism of women with disabilities; Jelena Zagorac, a graduate professor of literature,a journalist, a blogger, film aficionado… her mission is to process disability related topics in institutions and organizations that are not primarily directed toward persons with disabilities; Gorica Grlica, an activist from IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA; Aleksandra Stankic, a personal assistant, a professor of literature,and a Sodros activist; Olga Vrtunski, a personal assistant; and Marija Vrebalov, a member of the Board of Directors of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA who attended the film night online.
Svjetlana Timotic, an executive director of IZ KRUGA VOJVODINA, and Milesa Milinkovic, a president of the Board of Directrs of IZ KRUGA VOJVOIDNA and director of the Seize the Film Festival served as moderators of the conversation after the projection. Marija Gabnai from The Association for Sign Language Interpreters Ruke govore, translated into sign language. Maja Tomic, a photographer, photographed the event.
Translated by: Suzana Belos
