Compilation: International Women’s Day 2020

Two years ago, I was only vaguely aware of Women’s Day, and completely ignorant of its history. Last year I came to understand the importance of the holiday, and some of the ways in which it is still largely ignored or undervalued (and we made an instagram post featuring 8 of our favorite female filmmakers). This year I am proud to present Ultra Dogme’s first ‘Compilation’, in celebration of International Women’s Day.

In 1909, the Socialist Party of America held the first Women’s Day on February 28th in New York City. The following year, Socialist Luise Zietz and Marxist theorist Clara Zetkin suggested March 8th to honor working women. In 1917 it became a national holiday in Russia, in celebration of women’s suffrage. It was recognized by the UN in 1975.

In presenting this first compilation, I must admit that it was largely inspired by our sister site Photogénie’s decision to begin publishing in thematically-cohesive issues, the first of which (Photogénie #1 – The Eye of Time) I am proud to have edited.

I would also be remiss to fail to mention here my partner Tijana Perović, and her continuing contributions to and influence on Ultra Dogme, which are not always clear or obvious: endless suggestions, ideas, feedback, editorial vision and loving encouragement, not to mention an immense strengthening of my conception of feminism, bringing brilliant female works to my attention, and supporting my absurd personal decisions such as starting this site, purchasing a steady stream of film books, and a return to shooting on celluloid. Hvala bebo.

I will first give a short introduction to each piece, and at the bottom you can find a list with links to each of the works in this compilation.

First up is Souky De Wolf on Naoko Ogigami’s Rent-a-Cat and its compassionate improbabilities, not to mention hilarity.

Next, readers will note that we were smitten with the newest work of autofiction by Ivana Mladenović at Woche der Kritik (a parallel event to the Berlinale), Ivana the Terrible, and we are happy to present here three GIFs pertaining to said screening by Yoana Pavlova (of Festivalists) as well as an interview with Ivana by Tijana Perović. Special thanks go to Woche der Kritik for bringing Ivana and her film to Berlin last month.

Patrick Preziosi weighs in on Barbara Loden’s weighty re-discovered classic Wanda, and why it has stood the test of time despite being *ahem* criminally overlooked in its day.

Madeleine Larrosa offers a brief and fierce commentary on a recent bit of political decision-making at the prestigious French César Awards, partly adapted from a text by filmmaker and author Virginie Despentes.

Last year indie-darling Mitski announced her last tour, indefinitely. Žarko Urošević gives us their thoughts on Mitski the meme, Mitski the songwriter, and Mitski the icon, with a personal account of one of those final shows to boot.

Kaylee Lockett gifts us Two Poems after Adrienne Rich.

Arta Barzanji selects a brief video excerpt from ‘Introduction to Arnold Schoenberg’s Accompaniment to a Cinematic Scene’ as a tribute to Danièle Huillet.

In ‘The War is Never Over’, Ejla Kovačević investigates the ‘Transcendental Darklands’ of Lydia Lunch and Louise Bourque.

Kelsie Renehan pays tribute to Brazilian author Clarice Lispector, with a poem, ‘CLARICE, CLARICE’, which incorporates and riffs on a few lines from Lispector’s prose.

Preparing to close out the compilation, Noah Rosenberg furnishes observations on Chantal Akerman’s La Chambre (1972).

Our final essay sees Ruairí McCann go long on ‘The Limits of Intimacy and Language in the Genealogical Cinema Of Sofia Bohdanowicz’.

Finally, we close out this compilation with three short thoughts written by myself, my partner, and a dear friend of ours in regards to a personal screening with Berlin’s resident Bolex + Kodak champion, Ute Aurand.

Compilation: International Women’s Day 2020 Articles

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