Film, Women’s Rights and the Muslim World Take Center Stage at Dual Events in NYC

Women's Voices from the Muslim World: A Short-Film Festival TRAILER from Women's Voices Now on Vimeo.
Women’s Voices Now, in conjunction with the Paley Center for Media and the Rubin Museum of Art, presents two film and dialogue events focused on women of the Muslim World.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Catinca Tabacaru 919.475.8407

April 18, 2011-Riding high after the successful Women’s Voices from the Muslim World: A Short-Film Festival (the “Festival”) held in Hollywood, CA last month, Women’s Voices Now (WVN), a non-profit New York City-based arts organization, is making their way back to the East Coast with two exciting events this May. WVN has partnered with The Paley Center for Media and The Rubin Museum of Art to bring the Festival films and women’s issues to the forefront at these dual events.

On May 9 WVN graces The Paley Center (25 W. 52nd Street) with an evening screening and panel discussion focused on the effect of media on the global movement for women’s rights. Panelists include Dr. Qanta Ahmed (Associate Professor of Medicine, SUNY-Stony Brook; Author, In the Land of Invisible Women), Maha Awad (international television host and producer), Danielle Lurie (filmmaker and Festival winner for In the Morning), Negar Mottahedeh (Associate Professor, Program in Literature Duke University - Reading Film Fiction) and WVN Executive Director Catinca Tabacaru, with TEDWomen and Paley Center President Pat Mitchell moderating. The Paley Center will also feature six WVN film programs during operating hours on Saturday, May 14 and Sunday, May 15. The Woman Warrior; Crossroads: The Intersection of Cultural and Religious Norms; Love, Sex and Other Dangerous Pursuits; Health Taboos; The Slave; and Women at Work all premiered at the Festival in Hollywood on March 17-19 and are being showcased for this limited engagement. Tickets for the 6:30 pm event on May 9 can be purchased at www.PaleyCenter.org. Festival Program screenings held during daytime hours on May 14-15 are included with general admission.

On May 21st, The Rubin Museum of Art (150 W. 17th Street) presents A Focus on Afghanistan, featuring a full day of screenings and two panel discussions highlighting WVN’s astounding collection of Afghan films. This collection is the largest collection of Afghan films ever presented outside of Afghanistan. The films touch upon a range of subjects from drug addiction and domestic violence to tae-kwon-do and fashion, and feature some of Afghanistan’s most inspiring and powerful women. The screenings will be held in four segments beginning at 12pm, 1pm, 3pm and 4pm. At 2:25pm, there will be a panel discussion with Rina Amiri (Political Affairs Officer in the Office of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General at the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan-UNAMA), Masha Hamilton (author and founder of the Camel Book Drive and the Afghan Women's Writing Project), and Wazhmah Osman (filmmaker, Buried Alive: Women of Afghanistan Under the Taliban). A second panel discussion will begin at 5:25 with Anita Anastacio (Senior Technical Advisor for Education, International Rescue Committee), Vikram Parekh (former Political Affairs Officer, UN Mission in Afghanistan) and Sunita Viswanath (co-founder for Women for Afghan Women). Each panel will contextualize the films preceeding the discussion and with provide further insight on the on the topics addressed. TIckets for the event can be purchased at www.rmanyc.org.

For more information on both events, visit www.womensvoicesnow.org/events