Today from our friends at Big Red & Shiny in Boston, we bring you author William J. Simmons‘ article showcasing the work and thoughts of filmmaker Lili White.  Of her work with the Another Experiment by Women Film Festival, White’s says, “[W]hen I see something that really turns me on, it feeds me; I want to show it to somebody else, and make sure others see it. […] We are making an archive of women’s work—of women’s thoughts, their expression.” This article was originally published on January 22, 2015. 

Lili White. Still from FOOL’S GOLD: CALIFORNIA ROADTRIP IN AN ELECTION YEAR, 2014; Color; sound; TRT: 78 min. Courtesy of the Artist.

I founded the Another Experiment by Women (AXW) Film Festival in 2010 after showing my work on a Manhattan Neighborhood Network community TV show—EYE:AM—curated by Victoria Kereszi, who was curating women’s films at the time. She would also present a live show in a theatre once a year at 2 Boots/Pioneer Theater, and later with New Filmmakers at Anthology Film Archives. Victoria was very committed to this and I realized seeing work by women had a different buzz. Growing up as a female with a body that is capable of giving birth to another, you’re going to have a different outlook on life. You have different issues and concerns.

I came out of painting, as did other experimental filmmakers, and I spent some time in the 1990s at Millennium Film Workshop, a nonprofit arts center and cinema where I met other filmmakers. Unfortunately, MFW has fallen on hard times due to rising rents and the depletion of grant funds. MFW gives people a place to come together at open screenings that serve as a show-and-tell of short work. Meeting other people who were interested in personal, experimental films resulted in us formulating experimental theory. These theories then migrated to universities’ curriculums. There is a community of filmmakers out there and MFW reminds us of this; there is no other place like it in the world.

Read the full article here.