Freja Film: Wikipedia threatens history of women in film

Before Wikipedia erases the history of women in film for being non-important, CineFemme will preserve this herstory of Freja Film, which has already spidered elsewhere out in the web,

Freja Film was a radical screening forum held at the "Stockholm Women's House (Kvinnohuset)" in Stockholm, Sweden, during the 1980s. The name Freja was chosen for the group paying homage to the Nordic goddess who was the leader of the Valkyrie. Kvinnohuset was an important meeting place for women during the 1980's and 1990's in Stockholm. The space on Snickarbacken 10 was shared by different women's organisations such as Freja Film , self defense groups, Kvinnobulletinen[1][2] Lesbiska Feminister, and musicians in Spelhålen. [3][4][5][6][7]

The original core group was composed of Moira Sullivan, Yvonne Eriksson, and Anna Kindgren. Guests to the women's house included filmmaker Barbara Hammer. Regular screenings of films made by women were held with discussions afterwards. The icon on the poster head for the monthly screenings was Dorothy Arzner, the only woman working in Hollywood as a director during the 1930s. Freja Film was modeled after the Amsterdam based feminist film and video distribution collective Cinemien.[8] Freja Film imported films with permission of filmmakers for special screenings. Some of the films screened were Lizzie Borden's "Born in Flames" which won "prix du public" at Créteil International Women's Film Festival in 1983 and Marleen Gorris' A Question of Silence which won in 1982. Freja Film's activities and reports from women's film festivals were published in Kvinnobulletinen, an important journal for women in Sweden during the 1970's through 1990's. Among the editors was Ebba Witt-Brattström. Freja Film was the contact organisation of women's film established during a special conference sponsored by UNESCO in 1981 held at the 1st International Feminist Film and Video Conference in Amsterdam. At the Amsterdam meeting all functioning women's festivals and women working in film such as Frances Reid, Barbara Hammer, Michelle Citron presented papers and strategized about reaching women in media around the globe. Also present was the newly startedCréteil International Women's Film Festival(1979), the longest surviving women's film organization in Europe. Freja Film worked closely with Créteil International Women's Film Festival as the Nordic contact organisation.

References

1.      ^ Stockholms KvinnoCentrums arkiv http://sok.riksarkivet.se/?postid=ArkisRef+SE%2FRA%2F730534%2F%23&s=TARKIS08_Balder Kvinnobulletinen

2.      ^ Schmitz, Eva Den nya kvinnorörelsen under 1970-talet, 2009. http://www.ub.gu.se/kvinn/portaler/systerskap/historik/

3.       ^ Gallagher, Margaret Unequal Opportunities - The Case of Women and the Media, UNESCO 1981.http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0004/000476/047681eo.pdf

4.      ^ Mickey Lee, A review of UNESCO's publications on women and communication, International Association for Media and Communication Research (IAMCR) 23rd Conference and General Assembly, Barcelona, Spain 21st-- 26th July 2002http://www.portalcomunicacion.com/bcn2002/n_eng/programme/prog_ind/papers/l/pdf/l010se06_lee.pdf

5.       UNESCO (1980). Women in the media. Paris: UNESCO.

6.      ^ First international feminist film and video conference Amsterdam First international feminist film and video conference Amsterdamhttp://www.geheugenvannederland.nl/?/nl/items/IIAV01:104001729

7.      ^ First international feminist film and video conference Amsterdam First international feminist film and video conference Amsterdam (2)http://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/92034/GVNRC_NAGO02_EYE_A21633.html

8.      ^ Kuhn, Annette, The Women's Companion to International Film, p. 83.