Culture and Activism: Using Film to Make Global Change

Short Film screening followed by a Panel

We know that film drives culture – it can influence how people think, feel, and perceive the world around them. Global gender justice organizations including UN Women and Global Fund for Women are harnessing the power of film to challenge stereotypes and foster public support for feminist action. Join us for an intergenerational and intersectional discussion on how activists are building momentum, making progress, and writing new futures for themselves and their communities — and using film to drive progress.

We will begin by screening the New York Premiere of a short film from the upcoming documentary series, Fundamental: “Defenders of Justice: Fighting Racism and Patriarchy in Brazil”. The series, created by Global Fund for Women in partnership with two-time Academy Award-winner Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, follows activists from five different countries who are working on the front lines of the global fight for gender justice. The other four films in the series will be available for viewing at the Activism Booth on Saturday and Sunday of the Athena Film Festival.

Moderator 
Latanya Mapp Frett is President and CEO of Global Fund for Women, one of the world’s leading foundations for gender justice. Global Fund for Women envisions a world in which movements for gender justice have transformed power and privilege for a few into equity and equality for all. As a feminist fund, Global Fund for Women offers flexible support to a diverse group of partners—more than 5,000 groups across 175 countries so far—to create meaningful change that will last beyond our lifetimes.

Panelists 

Brianna Johnson is a junior at Barnard pursuing a double major in Theatre and Africana Studies. Although Theatre has been her primary mode of academic interest and experience, she plans to pursue film in the near future.

Allison Rowe – Senior Advisor to the Executive Director.  Rowe supports the strategic positioning and communications of the Executive Director on all issues relating to gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls, and coordinates change advocacy and outreach to new audiences through coordination of the Goodwill Ambassador programme.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy is a Pakistani journalist, filmmaker, and activist. She is known for her work in films that highlight the inequality with women. She is the recipient of two Academy Awards, six Emmy Awards, and a Knight International Journalism Award. Sharmeen is the director of the upcoming documentary series, Fundamental: “Defenders of Justice: Fighting Racism and Patriarchy in Brazil”

Nathalia Arcuri is a Brazilian journalist, educator, and pioneer in creating the concept of financial entertainment. She is known for her YouTube channel – Me Poupe! (translates to “Spare Me!”) – where she gives financial advice. It is the largest financial entertainment channel in the world. Her journey on the platform started after learning that one of the main reasons women do not leave their abusers is because of financial dependency. That led Nathalia to open her YouTube channel in 2015 to help Brazilian women understand the basics of personal finances: how to save money, how to invest, how to make more money. In 2014 she won the highest prize of personal financial planning in Brazil and is 2 times winner of the Digital Influencers Award. In 2019 she won Women of the Year in the Glamour magazine award. In 2018, she released a book, which stayed on the bestseller national rankings for several weeks. She is now considered one of the most influential women in Brazil.

Supported by