Celebrating Women in Film: Feministisch Filmkollektief Cinemien at Eye Filmmuseum

The depictions of women in media, and broadly the position of women in media have drastically changed over the decades. Now, directors such as Sofia Coppola, Coralie Fargeat, and Emma Seligman have perfected their mastery over the female gaze. Comedic, searing, and impactful – the big-screen productions of our day that focalise women for women and widen the mainstream scope of feminine representation and narration rest on the efforts of a generation of activist women, filmmakers, and distributors.

In celebration of international women’s day, and with a desire to shine light on the women who dedicated their lives to the screening and distribution of films from women about women, Eye Filmmusuem’s upcoming program revolves around the Feministisch Filmkollektief Cinemien (1974-1989). The 1970s, the peak of second-wave feminism, was a momentous period for feminist cinema as activist women’s groups amongst several cities were formed to interject the normative fetishised representation of women in media. Feministisch Filmkollektief Cinemien, based in the Netherlands, was one of the most important forces involved in these efforts – going on to become a leading international distributor of feminist films. With their new program, Eye celebrates the efforts of the collective to empower female directors, challenge stereotypes, and raise the mainstream consciousness of female oriented media and culture. Comprised of several titles that grapple with inequality, systemic oppression, and the feminine experience – this program is not a mere celebration of women-led cultural movements, it is also a call to memory and legacy. Contemporary women and nonbinary individuals in culture today are contributors to an ongoing historical battle tinted with the powerful legacy of those who came before them, attempting to deconstruct patriarchal, imperial, and capitalist temporalities and sensibilities. The past informs the present and future, the legacy of Feministisch Filmkollektief Cinemien intimately shaped the zeitgeist of female cinema and will continue to do so. 

Titles such as the legendary Daisies by Vera Chytilová, restored in 4K, Desert Hearts by Donna Deitch, and Wanda by Barbara Loden embellish the program and highlight its multiculturality and contextual range. Testimonies of hardship, of suffrage, of rage weave a perspective of urgency that lies beneath the surface of this program. We watch these films as women or genderfluid people with hopes to watch them in the future as emancipated individuals all over the world.