Black & White (2019) by Zoe Aiano
Saturday, May 23, 2026, 7:00 pm
Gravitational Lensing: Women, War & Resistance
Feminist Film Dialogues, Program 15
Presented in Association with Shapeshifters Cinema
Admission: $15 General / $13.50 Cinematheque Members and Members of Shapeshifters Cinema
Event tickets here
Gravitational Lensing: Feminist Film Dialogues is an ongoing film series curated by Kathleen Quillian & Amy Reid and presented by Shapeshifters Cinema in association with San Francisco Cinematheque. The series is dedicated to exploring the visions, voices, concerns and lineage of women, non-binary, genderqueer and transgender filmmakers through public film screenings, workshops, conversations and presentations.
Gravitational Lensing, program 15: Since the beginning of time, women have always been considered the weaker sex. But when it comes to war, they no doubt have the upper hand. The films in this program show the many ways women (as well as non-binary and trans people) have stood up to the tyranny of war and patriarchal violence with little more than a strong sense of justice, a powerful life force and a righteous feminist touch.
SCREENING: Rat Life and Diet in North America (1968, 16mm film) by Joyce Wieland, Black & White (2019, DV) by Zoe Aiano, Viet Flakes (1962-67, 8mm film shown on 16mm film) by Carolee Schneemann, The Lines of Your Face (2023, DV) by Tara Baghdassarian, Lysistrata (2024, multi-projector expanded cinema performance) by Lydia Greer & Facing West Shadows, RUN! (2019, 16mm film) by Malic Amalya, I Was Born in 1988 (2022, DV) by Yasaman Baghban
About Gravitational Lensing:
Inspired by and named after the scientific phenomenon in which the gravitational pull of celestial bodies clustered together causes a curvature of spacetime strong enough to magnify distant objects, Gravitational Lensing aims to highlight and amplify the work of women, non-binary, genderqueer and transgender filmmakers by the sheer magnitude of their collective creative energy when gathered together in common dialogue.
The series will be presented over the course of 12–18 months with each program organized around a specific theme, pairing films selected from our open call with other filmmakers whose work engages with similar subjects, ideas or techniques. Films in the series will touch on everything from the intersections of gender and mythology to colonial histories and everything in between.
In addition to film programs Shapeshifters Cinema will be offering a series of hands-on workshops led by experienced feminist filmmakers and educators addressing different aspects of personal filmmaking, including material cinema, documentary filmmaking and more. These workshops are designed for all levels of experience and are open to all. Visit www.shapeshifterscinema.com for details.
See also: “The Fourth Wave is a Lens” by Jadie Stillwell (which includes an interview with series curators Kathleen Quillian & Amy Reid), published by Screen Slate, SF Bay Area here.
Gravitational Lensing is presented by Shapeshifters Cinema in association with San Francisco Cinematheque. Support for the series is provided to Shapeshifters Cinema by Southern Exposure’s Alternative Exposure Grant Program.